CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's basketball team cruised past the Western New Mexico Mustangs 85-57 at the First United Bank Center on Thursday night. The Buffs (10-5, 8-1 LSC) held the Mustangs (9-7, 3-6 LSC) to 35.8% from the field and 18.8% from deep in the home victory.
 
The Leaders
Julius Brown and Larry Wise led the way for the Buffs, contributing 13 points each. Damion Thornton reached double figures as well, totaling 12 pints on 4-of-8 shooting. Jesse Iweze hauled in a game-high eight rebounds in the win while Brown posted a game-high five assists.
 
How It Happened
The offense started slow for the Buffs to open the game, but it didn't take long for the situation to change. WT fell behind by five points at the 11:17 mark before back-to-back three pointers by Thornton gave the Buffs the lead. Thornton's first three ignited a 13-0 WT run over 4:09 of game time. The Buffs extended their lead to as high as 16, taking the advantage into the locker room.
 
Coming out of halftime, the WT defense shut down the WNMU offense. As the game approached the 11:51 mark, the Buffs held the Mustangs to just six points on 2-of-9 shooting with three turnovers. WT continued to roll on the offensive side of the court as the Buffs stretched their lead to 36 points with 5:20 to play.
 
The Mustangs pieced together a 12-4 run to end the game, but the Large WT lead was insurmountable as the Buffs took the Lone Star Conference matchup, 85-57.
 
Inside the Box Score

• WT leads the all-time series 20-4, 11-3 in Canyon
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 12-0 against the Mustangs.
• WT shot 38.8% (26-of-67) from the field, 35.3% (12-of-34) from deep, 75.0% from the charity stripe with 46 rebounds, 14 assists, two steals, three blocks, and 10 turnovers.
• WNMU shot 35.8% (19-of-53) from the floor, 18.8% (3-of-16) from the 3-point range, 55.2% (16-of-29) at the free throw line with 36 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and 19 turnovers.

 
Up Next
WT wraps up the short homestand with a matchup against rival Eastern New Mexico on Saturday. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. inside the First United Bank Center.
 
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