CANYON, Texas – Senior guard Julius Brown dropped 21 points to lead the No. 25 West Texas A&M Buffs (3-2, 1-0) to an 83-77 victory over UAFS (4-3, 0-1 LSC) in the Lone Star Conference opener on Thursday night. 
 
The Leaders
Four players reached double figure scoring led by the Ohio product with 21 to go along with five steals, two assists, one steal and one rebound. Brown went 6-for-12 from the field, 3-for-3 from the deep and 6-for-8 at the charity stripe while Damion Thornton scored 19 followed by Zach Toussaint (17) and Ahamed Mohammed (14). Sophomore Jesse Iweze brought down a team-high six rebounds with Ryland Holt picking up five. 
 
How It Happened
Brown led off scoring in the opening 15-seconds before UAFS broke away with a 6-0 run to take the lead. The Buffs chipped away at the Lions lead before taking control of the game at the 9:13 mark with a three from junior Zach Toussaint. 
 
WT took advantage of a 13-0 run, taking hold of an 18-point lead before a layup from Furah de Dieu Cadeaux snapped the streak. De Dieu Cadaeux's shot was quickly responded with a jumper by Damion Thornton before the Buffs pushed their lead out to 20 at the half, 51-31. 
 
The lead would get as high as 21 with another 3-pointer from Toussaint until the Lions' offense shifted momentum to bring the score back within single digits with under five minutes to go in regulation. Brown recovered the ball after Courtney Murrell lost control leading to the seniors sixth field goal of the game. 
 
With :20 left to go, UAFS cut the Buffs lead down to five with David Ekezie's dunk but WT's defense held on to capture the conference opener.  
 
The Stats
The Buffs shot 40.7% (22-for-54) from the field, 34.8% (8-for-23) from the deep and went 31-for-43 at the free throw line with 38 points coming off the bench to go along with 24 rebounds, eight assists, and seven steals.  UAFS shot 53.1% (26-for-49) from the floor, 33.3% (5-for-15) from the three, and 76.9% (20-for-26) from the charity stripe while grabbing 37 boards, eight assists, and one steal. Nine players scored for the Lions led by Payton Brown scored a game-high 24 points going 6-for-15 from the field with three rebounds while Cameron Bush had a game-high eight rebounds. 
 
Up Next 
WT will be back at the First United Bank Center on Saturday, Dec. 3, to take on Oklahoma Christian (4-2, 0-1 LSC) with tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT against the Lions in Canyon.