LUBBOCK, Texas – Joel Murray tied a career-high with 32 points as No. 2 West Texas A&M handed No. 6 Lubbock Christian their first loss of the season on Thursday night, 82-78. With their third straight win over the Chaps, WT improves to 12-1 on the season and 10-1 in Lone Star Conference play.
Murray reached the 30-point plateau for the third time in his career after going 11-of-21 from the floor and 9-of-13 from the free throw line. Qua Grant had 20 points and six rebounds as he fouled out for the first time in his career late in the second half. Jon'il Fugett scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half while Kavon Booker tied a career-high with seven rebounds to go along with three blocks.
Murray and Grant scored the first 25 points for the Buffs as the game was tied at 25-all at the 4:42-mark before Hayden Blankley connected a 3-pointer. Murray was 6-of-9 from the floor with 15 points during the stretch while Grant was also in double figures with 10 as he became the fourth Buff in program history to eclipse 1,500 career points.
J. Fugett would get on the score sheet with the Buffs fifth 3-pointer of the half following a 30-second timeout to give WT a 31-27 lead. Murray would bring his first half total to 18 with another jumper and free three throw to give the Buffs a 34-32 lead at halftime.
The Buffs opened the second half 2-of-3 from downtown with Zach Toussaint knocking down his first of the game followed by another three from Grant to stop a 6-0 run from the Chaps. The sophomore would connect on another deep ball two minutes later to make it 46-45 in favor of WT.
J. Fugett would continue to shoot better in the second half with his second 3-pointer followed by an old-fashioned 3-point play from Grant to make it 56-52 at 11:44. WT would go the next three minutes without a basket before Toussaint was good from 3-point range to retake the lead, 60-59, with less than nine minutes remaining in regulation
The Buffs would trail by as many as three, 69-66, with five minutes left in the game before Murray scored on back-to-back possession to retake the lead. After trading free throws, Grant would score his final points of the game to make it 74-71, before fouling out on the next possession on an offensive foul.
WT's lead would stretch to four, 76-72, with less than two-minutes remaining as Murray once again got to the basket for a score. LCU would respond with a 3-pointeer but J. Fugett took one dribble on a pass from Murray to respond with a triple of his own to restore the four-point cushion, 79-75, with 24 seconds remaining.
LCU didn't go down with a fight as Aamer Muhammad hit a three to cut the lead to one with just over 11 seconds left. Murray made his first and missed the second giving the Chaps a chance to tie but Booker met Cameron Copley at the rim for a contested layup that bounced off the rim and was rebounded by Murray, who would make two free throws with less than a second on the clock to seal the victory for the Buffs.
The Buffs will host the Chaps in the regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the First United Bank Center. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m.
