CANYON, Texas – Joel Murray reached 1,000 career points as No. 3 West Texas A&M used a big second half to defeat Midwestern State 82-58 in front of 1,361 fans on Thursday evening at the First United Bank Center. The Buffs improved to 28-1 overall and 20-1 in Lone Star Conference as they tied the program record with their 19^th straight victory. 
 
Jon'il Fugett had a strong start to the game as the sophomore scored six of their 12 points as they lead by four, 12-8, following a 3-pointer from Qua Grant. The game was tied at 18-all at 11:22 following a jumper from the Mustangs Darius Thompson. WT responded with a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to make it 25-18 at 8:11 with Murray scoring the final four points of the run including a steal and score.
 
The Mustangs continued to fight back as they tied the game at 28-28 with under four minutes remaining. Murray converted the old-fashioned 3-point to go over 1,000 points before Fugett and Zach Toussaint finished the half with free throws to send the Buffs into halftime with a 35-30 lead. 
 
The game continued to stay close in the opening minutes of the second half before WT went on a 13-0 run to bust the game wide open. Jordan Collin got things with a 3-pointer followed by a layup from Fugett off an offensive rebound. The run continued as Murray found Toussaint for layup before scoring two straight buckets to make it 62-45 with 10:24 remaining in the game. 
 
The lead would continue to grow as Fugett and Toussaint connected from downtown. Derrick Geddis scored seven straight points for he Buffs as the lead reached a game-high 24, 77-53, at 3:26. JT Warren would finish the scoring for WT with three free throws in the final minutes as they won their sixth straight in the series. 
 
Fugett led the team in scoring for the second consecutive game with 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor and   2-of-3 from 3-point range. Murray added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists with fellow sophomore Grant chipping in 11 points and seven rebounds. 
 
The Buffs finish the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 29, when they host Cameron at the FUBC. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.