CANYON, Texas – The No. 8 Buffs saw their 12-home game win streak come to an end on Thursday night as West Texas A&M dropped an 82-79 heartbreaker to Angelo State. Thursday's loss marks ASU's first victory against the Buffs since January 2016 for WT to move to 16-3 overall and 3-2 in Lone Star Conference play while the Rams improve to 12-4 (2-2 LSC).
Larry Wise opened scoring in the first 20 seconds of play before Paul Williams drove up the lane to ignite a back-and-forth lead change until the Rams took the first substantial lead of the night, 13-8, at the 15:19 mark. A 3-pointer for Wise gave the Buffs a four-point lead, their largest lead of the night, but was quickly responded with a 6-2 run to lock the score at 25-all before Angelo State took back the lead to make it 43-41 at the half.
After falling behind in the first half, WT was unable to shift momentum as the Rams pushed out to a 12-point lead in midway with nine minutes left in regulation. A free throw for
Jonas Carlisle brought to score back within three but fouls proved to be costly as the Buffs moved to 32-6 all-time in Canyon against ASU.
WT finished the night 26-of-66 (39.4%) from the field while going 6-of-24 (25%) from beyond the arc and 21-of-33 (63.6%) at the charity stripe to go along with 47 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and a pair of blocks. Four Buffs reached double figures led by Wise with 16 points followed by
Zach Toussaint (1),
Hayden Blankley (11) and
Kavon Booker (11) while Booker brought down a team-high eight rebounds.
The Rams went 27-of-60 (45%) from the floor, 11-of-39 (37.9%) from the deep and 17-of-30 (56.7%) at the free throw line while collecting 38 rebounds, 11 assists, seven steals and a block. Tyrell Carroll was the game's leading scorer with 17 points while Devaughn Thomas a game-high nine rebounds to go along with 13 points.
WT will return to the First United Bank Center on Saturday, Jan. 22, for more Lone Star Conference action with a matchup against UT Permian Basin at 4 p.m. CT.
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