FORT SMITH, Ark. –  For the first time in six years, West Texas A&M fell in the Lone Star Conference opener as the No. 3 Buffs registered their second loss of the season on Friday evening.  The Buffs fell to UAFS, 75-69, to move to 13-2 on the season and 0-1 in conference play while the Lions improve to 6-6 (1-0 LSC).
 
Julius Brown matched his season-high 21 points as the leading scorer against UAFS shot 9-for-17 from the floor with three 3-points to go along with three assists and one steal while Zach Toussaint added 19 points to the board. ­­
 
The Lions used a 10-2 run to take the lead in the opening five minutes of the game. Larry Wise added two points to the board after the sophomore drove up the lane to end the drought before Addison Wallace lobbed a pass to Julius Brown for the three to make it a six-point game, 18-12. 
 
Zach Toussaint gave WT its first lead of the night after draining a shot from the deep at the 5:16 mark to make it 26-25 but was quickly responded by UAFS for the Lions to take back the lead.  The Buffs and Lions went back-and-forth with five lead changes until Daryl McElrath's layup leveled the score at 33-all to end the first half. 
 
WT began to find its rhythm as Hayden Blankley opened scoring in the second half with a driving layup before a jumper by Brown led off a 12-0 run to put the Buffs ahead 47-38 at 15:31. The Lions chipped away at WT's lead as Drew Miller knocked down the 3-pointer to make it a one-point game, 56-55. 
 
With five minutes left to play, the Lions took advantage of the Buffs first technical foul to take control of the game as WT was unable to string together a successful run to record the 75-69 loss.
 
The Buffs shot 28-of-65 (43.1%) from the floor while going 10-of-32 (31.3%) from beyond the arc and 3-of-6 (50.0%) from the charity stripe alongside 41 rebounds, four blocks and nine steals.  The Lions shot 24-of-52 (46.2%) from the field, 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the deep and 18-of-28 (64.3%) at the charity stripe led by the conference's leading scorer Matthew Wilson with 32 points. 
 
WT will return to competition on Jan. 2 as they head to Oklahoma City for a conference matchup against Oklahoma Christian.  Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Payne Athletic Center on Sunday.