Game Notes
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CANYON, Texas – The No. 4 West Texas A&M Buffs travel to Las Vegas, Nev. for the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic on Dec. 17-18 where they face off against Montana State-Billings and Lindenwood.  Friday's content against the Yellowjackets is set for 4 p.m. CT while the matchup against the Lions is at 6 p.m. CT. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Both games will be livestreamed on FloHoops, which requires a paid subscription to access.  Links to each game can be found at GoBuffsGo.com under the men's basketball schedule page.  Fans can also follow the Buffs on Twitter (@WestTXD2Hoops) for live updates. 
 
SCOUTING MSU BILLINGS
MSUB enters the two-day tournament 4-6 overall and 1-1 in conference play with a Great Northwest Athletic Conference victory against Northwest Nazarene.
 
The Yellowjackets average 86.0 points per game shooting 41.0% (236-of-575) from the floor, 29.7% (66-of-222) from three-point range and 73.2% (112-of-153) from the free throw line.
 
Wiggins Covington is the top scorer for MSUB as the 6-2 guard from Flint, Mich. is averaging 17.0 points per game while shooting 44.8% from the floor and 23.6% from beyond the arc.  Damen Thacker has brought down a team-high 53 rebounds, averaging 5.3 a game along with 14.7 ppg while totaling 32 assists, 17 steals and three blocks on the season. 
 
Mick Durham is in his fourth season at the helm of the men's program with a 30-37 overall record after the 2020 season was cancelled due to the CoVID-19 pandemic.  Before taking over MSUB, he was the head coached at the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he was named the GNAC co-Coach of the Year in 2012. 
 
SCOUTING LINDENWOOD
The Lions head to Las Vegas 5-4 and 1-2 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play under head coach Kyle Gerdeman who's in his third season.   Gerdeman has compiled a 27-30 overall record at LU after spending seven seasons with Central Michigan. 
 
Lindenwood averages 79.9 points per game while shooting 44.0% (246-of-559) from the floor while shooting 34.1% (72-of-211) from beyond the arc and 77.9% (155-for-199) from the charity stripe. 
 
Senior guard Ross Jacoby is the leading score option for the Lions as the New Orleans, La. product serves up 22.0 ppg, shooting 50.7% from the floor and 39.0% from the deep along with 20 assists and 10 steals.
 
Romelo Burrell averages 7.3 rpg while the 6-foot-7 forward has posted 15 blocks on the season.  Burrell is the Lions second leading scoring as he averages double scoring figures with 18.0 ppg. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Buffs moved to 11-1 (10-1 NCAA play) after they reached triple figures for the first this season with a 121-40 victory over Champions College.  Torian Harris posted a career-high 20 points for WT to move to 10-0 at home. 
 
Harris was the Buffs leading scorer on Monday and first in his career with 20 points going 9-for-11 from the field with a pair of 3-pointers to go along with three rebounds.  Four other Buffs reached double figures with Nielsen compiling a career-high 15 followed by Austin Shelley (15), Trevone Fuller (12), Hayden Blankley (12) and Jesse Iweze (10).
 
A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS
WT is outscoring opponents 81.0 to 63.6 with a 17.4 scoring margin as the Buffs are shooting 42.9 percent from the floor including 33.8 percent from the deep and 75.3 percent from the free throw line.  As a team, the Buffs average 41.9 rebounds per game alongside 11.5 assists, 9.8 steals, and 3.8 blocks.  The Buffs force 15.7 turnovers per game, scoring 16.3 points off of their opponents' turnovers. 
 
Three Buffs average double-figure scoring led by Larry Wise with 1844 total points.  The Waxahachie, Texas native produces 15.3 points per game which ranks 10^th in the LSC followed by Zach Toussaint (14.3) and Julius Brown (12.3).
 
Brown has collected a team-high 19 steals this season while Toussaint continues to be a threat from the deep with 28 total 3-pointers which ranks third in the LSC.
 
Kavon Booker has brought down a team-high 65 rebound, averaging 5.9 per game followed by Hayden Blankley with 60 (5.5 rpg).  Dalin Williams leads the Buffs defense with 11 blocks, denying one a game.  

WT HEAD COACH TOM BROWN
Tom Brown is in his eighth season as the head coach of the Buffs, registering an overall record of 192-44 (.811) with four NCAA Tournament Appearances including the programs first appearance in the National Championship game last season.  The two-time LSC Coach of the Year led the Buffs to their fourth consecutive conference tournament championship title.
 
NABC TOP 25 POLL
WT ranked in the top 10 of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 standings for the 35^th consecutive week. Lubbock Christian remained atop the rankings with 14 first-place votes followed by Northwest Missouri State (3-fpv), Mercyhurst, WT, Nova Southeastern, Indiana, Chico State and Augusta. West Liberty moved to ninth in the standings with Lincoln Memorial rounding out the Top 10.
 
COMING UP
Following the tournament in Nevada, WT will return to action for the Lone Star Conference opener on Dec. 31 against UAFS in Fort Smith, Ark. followed by a conference matchup against Oklahoma Christian on Jan. 2.