Live Stats
Audio Only
Video
Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – No. 3 West Texas A&M welcomes Dallas Baptist to Canyon for the first time since on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at the First United Bank Center. 
 
A LOOK BACK AT TARLETON
Derrick Geddis scored all of his career-high 20 points in the second half as No. 3 West Texas A&M defeated Tarleton 83-73 on Thursday evening in front of 1,387 fans at the First United Bank Center. The Buffs improve 24-1 overall and 16-1 in Lone Star Conference play following their fifth straight victories over the Texans.
 
Qua Grant finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season to go along with four steals and four assists. Geddis finished the game with 20 points, all of those coming in the second half, going 9-of-12 from the floor and 2-of-3 from 3-point range while pulling down eight rebounds. Joel Murray was also in double figures with 17 and three assists as WT shot 44.6 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from three.
 
A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS
Thursday's win not only pushed WT's home win streak to 39 games but also pushed their overall win streak to 15 games, the seventh-longest win streak in program history. Head coach Tom Brown also became the first coach in program history to record three separate win streaks of 15 games or more. 
 
The Buffs have made 10 or more 3-pointers in four of their last five game after going 10-of-32 from beyond the arc on Thursday. They rank 12th in the nation in 3-pointers made (277) and 11th in 3-pointers per game (11.1). 
 
Speaking of national rankings, WT ranks second in NCAA Division II men's basketball in turnovers forced and turnover margin. Their 245 steals are also the third-most in the nation. 
 
Geddis has scored the first basket of the game a team-high eight times this season. Murray, who opened the scoring on Thursday with a 3-pointer, has done it six times followed by Grant with five. As a team, WT's opening score of the game has been two points 13 times, a 3-pointer 10 times and free throws twice. 
 
Geddis' 20 points in the second half was the fourth-most by a Buff player in a single half this season. It was also the second-most in the second half behind Grant's 25-points against Angelo State on Jan. 16. 
 
Grant recorded his sixth double-double and eighth of his career on Thursday with 26 points and 11 rebounds. There has only been one game in his career (63 games) where he has recorded over 10 rebounds and not recorded a double-double. Over the past four games, he is averaging 10 boards a game.
 
Grant's 1,102 career points are 74 shy of passing Damien Lolar (2005-07) for the 11th most in program history. He needs just 87 points to catch Simmie Hill (1967-69) to enter the Top 10. 
 
Murray is possibly minutes away from reaching the 500-point plateau on the season. The sophomore has scored 485 points (19.4) in 25 starts this season shooting 46.5 percent from the floor, 38.0 percent from beyond the arc and 77.3 from the free throw line. He is also 71 points short of 1,000 for his career.
 
A LOOK AT DALLAS BAPTIST
Dallas Baptist (17-6, 11-6 LSC) received votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) ranking before falling to Eastern New Mexico, 79-72, Thursday evening in Portales. Prior to their loss to the Greyhounds, DBU had won three of four including back-to-back wins over Cameron and Midwestern State. 
 
The Patriots enter Saturday's contest averaging 82.7 points per game led by junior Chandler Jacobs, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. The Missouri City native is averaging 16.5 points per game shooting 55.2 percent from the floor, 46.7 percent from three and 74.6 percent from the free throw line to go along with 5.1 rebounds. He was named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after scoring a combined 59 points including a season-high 32 points. 
 
Jonathyn Washington is the only other Patriot to average over 10 points per game (10.3) as the 6-foot-6 senior is shooting 51.9 percent from the floor, 37.5 percent from three and 69.1 percent from the charity stripe. Conner Lidiak is the top 3-pointer shooter for DBU as the senior is 55-of-148 from downtown this season. He has made at least one 3-pointer in 22 of his 23 starts this season including a season-high five makes in the season opener against Colorado Christian. Carter Brown leads the team in assists at 3.7 per game. 
 
Dr. Blake Flickner is in his 15th season as the head basketball coach. During his tenure at DBU, he has led the Patriots to the NCAA tournament four times, including three of the last four years. He also led his teams to a pair of Heartland Conference regular season and tournament championships while being named the league's coach of the year twice. Prior to becoming the head coach at DBU, Flickner spent was an assistant at the U.S. Naval Academy after spending two years at Colorado State as the Director of Basketball Operations under Dale Layer.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series 2-0 with both games taking place in Canyon. After defeating the Patriots 87-78 on December 5, 1988, the Buffs put up a 100 in a victory on January 8, 1990. 
 
BUFFS IN THE RANKINGS
For the third straight week, West Texas A&M is ranked third in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Top 25 released on Tuesday afternoon. The Buffs (23-1, 15-1 LSC) clinched their division last week with road wins over Lubbock Christian and Angelo State where Qua Grant was named the Lone Star Conference Division Player of the Week. 
 
There was no movement for the Top 11 teams from last week's poll with Northwest Missouri State receiving all 16 first-place votes. Lincoln Memorial comes in at second with West Texas A&M at third followed by UC San Diego in fourth and Nova Southeastern in fifth. Florida Southern is sixth with Azusa Pacific, St. Edward's, Indiana (Pa.) and Jefferson rounding out the Top 10. Dixie State moved up seven spots to 15th while Dallas Baptist and Angelo State are receiving votes. 
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The Buffs finish the regular season with four of their final six games at the friendly confines of the First United Bank Center whey they have a nation's best 39 straight games. They are one of three schools in NCAA men's basketball to have a streak over 30 games, joined by Gonzaga and Northwest Missouri State. They are also one of 10 schools in NCAA DII men's hoops that have a perfect record at home this season.
 
Since 2016, WT is an incredible 62-1 (.984) at home with the lone loss coming to Tarleton on Jan. 18, 2018.
 
BUFFALO CHPS
The Waxahachie connection was alive and well on Thursday as Grant assisted on JT Warren's layup on the end of the first half. 
 
WT has won by double digits at the First United Bank Center in 17 straights following their 10-point victory over Tarleton on Thursday.
 
Geddis ranks sixth in the conference and 120th in the nation in offensive rebounds with 2.4 per game. Grant ranks 55th nationally in defensive rebounds per game (6.2). 
 
Fugett ranks fifth in the conference and 63rd in all of NCAA DII men's basketball in assist turnover ratio (2.21). Murray ranks 160th in the category at 1.63.
 
The Buffs rank 21st in the nation in total attendance (16,741) and average attendance (1,288). They are one of two schools from the LSC to rank in the Top 25 in both categories.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The WT Athletic Communications Department will provide live stats and pay-per-view broadcast for Saturday's game. Kent Johnson and Lucas Kinsey will be on the call for the Buffs on a free audio stream available on GoBuffsGo.com. 
 
UP NEXT
WT will hit the road one final time in the regular season with games against UT Tyler on Feb. 20 and Texas A&M-Commerce on Feb. 22.