CANYON, Texas – No. 6 West Texas A&M stays undefeated in Canyon with its seventh home victory of the season as the Buffs outlasted Oklahoma Baptist, 61-58, in the Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic opener.  WT improved to 7-1 on Friday night while the Bison fell to 3-2.  The Buffs now lead the all-time series 6-1 with a six-game win streak against OBU.
 
Larry Wise posted a team-high 23 points for his third 20-point game of the season. The sophomore guard shot 9-for-14 from the field with five shots from the deep to go along with three rebounds and three assists.  Freshman Jesse Iweze brought down eight rebounds for the Buffs to pair with nine points and four steals.
 
Oklahoma Baptist led off scoring in the opening minute of the game to take the lead but was quickly responded with a stepback jumper from Julius Brown to kickoff a 15-2 run.  Larry Wise hit four 3-pointers during the Buffs run to make it 17-4 at the 13:34 mark.   
 
Dalin Williams drove up the lane to add to the board to push the Buffs to their largest lead of the half, 22-5, until the Bison collected their own successful run to bring the score within single digits.  A driving layup for Burke Putnam brought the scoring within six, 25-19.  Wise would add his 17^th point of the game as the Waxahachie, Texas product made the shot in the paint to lead 35-23 at the intermission. 
 
Momentum shifted in the second half as OBU started to chip away at the Buffs lead.  The Bison strung together an 8-0 run to make it a one point game at 5:38 as Jaquan Simms drove up the lane to take OBU's second lead of the game, 52-51.  The next four minutes saw six lead changes until Williams pulled up with his fourth shot of the game to give the Buffs a 59-58 advantage before Toussaint nailed two free throws to secure WT's victory.
 
West Texas A&M went 24-for-66 (36.4%) from the floor while going 7-for-28 (25.0%) from the deep and 6-for-9 (66.7%) at the charity stripe.  The Buffs brought down 36 total rebounds with seven assists, three blocks and six steals. 
 
OBU shot 50 percent from the floor (24-for-48) with four 3-pointers while going 6-for-10 at the free throw line (60%) led Putnam.  The senior posted a game-high 2 points along with three rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Jaquan Simms also reached double figures with 14 points. 
 
The Buffs will be back at the First United Bank Center tomorrow night to take on Southwestern Oklahoma State (1-2, 0-0 GAC) for the final day of the Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic.  WT will face the Bulldogs at 5 p.m. following the women's matchup with Western Colorado.