LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Zach Toussaint hit a buzzer beating shot to give the No. 4 West Texas A&M Buffs a 59-57 victory over Montana State-Billings on the opening day of the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic at the South Point Hotel.  The Buffs improve to 12-1 overall after shooting 29.5 percent from the floor, 23.5 percent from 3-point range and 88.2 percent from the free throw line.
 
Toussaint was the leading scorer for WT with 16 points going 6-for-15 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and free throws.  Larry Wise and Hayden Blankley also reached double figures combining for 28 points while Blankley had a game-high eight rebounds and three steals. 
 
The Buffs showed some rust in the opening 10 minutes of the game shooting 1-for-16 with the Yellowjackets leading 16-5.  Hayden Blankley opened the game with a shot beyond the arc before MSUB went on a 16-0 run to take the lead until Larry Wise pulled up in the paint to end the drought. 
 
Wise would make the second free throw at the 4:53 mark before Toussaint hit the jumper to cut the Yellowjackets lead to seven, 26-19.  WT strung together a 10-3 run to bring the game within three led by five points from Toussaint to make it 32-29 after 20 minutes of action. 
 
Malik Brikat extended the Yellowjackets lead to start off the second half but Cameron Bell responded with a three of his own on a pass from Julius Brown to keep MSUB's lead to two. After drawing the foul from the deep, Brown added his first points to the game going 3-for-3 at the line to make it 41-all with eight minutes left in the game. 
 
The Yellowjackets went up 46-45 but was immediately responded with a driving layup by Wise to give WT its first lead of the game before the Waxahachie, Texas product drained a three to make it 50-46 in favor of the Buffs. 
 
At the :22 mark, the Buffs forced a foul to send the Yellowjackets to the free throw line where Damen Thacker made both to chip the Buffs lead to one.  After MSUB's timeout, Wise pushed the Buffs lead back to three at the charity stripe but Thacker would make it 57-all with a shot from beyond the arc.  Toussaint would hit a floater in a lane for two to give WT the 59-57 victory at the buzzer. 
 
WT will be back tomorrow night to take on Lindenwood for day two of the Holiday Hoops Classic with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at the South Point Hotel in Las Vegas, Nev.