LUBBOCK, Texas – Eric Mosley recorded his first career double-double as No. 3 West Texas A&M defeated Lubbock Christian 72-67 on Thursday evening at the Rip Griffin Center. WT improves to 22-1 overall and 14-1 in Lone Star Conference play with its first victory in Lubbock since 2006.
The Buffs opened the game with 3-pointers from Mosley and Derrick Geddis to take a 6-0 lead a minute into the game. The game would be tied at 11-all before Mosley hit a pair of 3-pointers, two minutes apart, to restore the visitors six-point lead at 17-11.
The game was once again tied, 19-19, at the 9:12 mark following a 8-2 run from the Chaps before Murray scored 10 of WT's next 13 point to give them a three point lead heading into the under four minute media timeout. Zach Toussaint would nail his second 3-pointer out of the timeout before Mosley tied a career-high with his fourth 3-pointer two minutes later to give the Buffs a 40-31 advantage at halftime.
Following Mosley's fifth and final 3-pointer of the night two minutes into the second half, WT went over six minutes without a basket as their lead dwindle to three, 45-42. Toussaint ended the drought with a 3-pointer following an offensive rebound from Jon'il Fugett.
Following a three fomr the Chaps, Fugett would connect on his first three of the evening on the next possession to push the lead back to six, 51-45. Qua Grant scored his only points of the second half on an old-fashioned 3-point play at 8:22 after the Chaps had cut the lead to one. LCU's Silas Crisler would connect on a three on their next possession that was followed immediately by another three from Fugett.
The lead was back to one at 4:18 following another three from Crisler but Fugett was able to get to the line and make both free throws on the next possession. The sophomore continued to come up big for the Buffs with a layup with a little more than two minutes left in regulation to make it 67-64.
The lead was be two, 67-65, with under 30 seconds when Murray hit a deep 3-pointer to push the lead to five. The sophomore would make a pair of free throws in the final 10 seconds as Tom Brown picked up his first victory over the Chaps in Lubbock.
Murray finished with a game-high 23 points after shooting 7-of-17 from the floor, 3-of-10 from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Mosley became the first Buff not named Grant to pick up a double-double this season with 15 points and 10 rebounds after making a career-high five 3-pointers. Fugett also reached double figures with 12 including four assists.
WT returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 8, against Angelo State in San Angelo. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
