Game Notes
 
CANYON, Texas – The Buffs of West Texas A&M return to Lone Star Conference divisional play on Thursday, Jan. 21 against Cameron. The Buffs (13-5, 11-1 LSC) and Aggies (4-15, 2-11 LSC) are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Aggie Gym in Lawton, Okla.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
A live stream and stats will be provided by the CU Communications department.  The game will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.  Fans will be able to purchase a $10 daily pass that will give them access to all contests on the network that day as well as access to previously aired games from the current season for 24 hours. Fans can also purchase a $75 basketball season pass that will give them access to all Lone Star Conference basketball games.  In addition to live and archived streaming options, viewers will have the option to purchase and download games from the 2022-23 season for $10 each.
 
NABC TOP 25 POLL
The top five schools in the National Association Basketball Coaches (NABC) saw no change from last week in the Division II Top 25 Poll as Indiana (Pa.) remains on top with a perfect 17-0 record. Nova Southeastern follows IUP as the only other undefeated team in the nation at 18-0. Lincoln Memorial stays at No. 3 at 19-1 while Central Oklahoma (18-1) and Colorado School of Mines (18-1) follows at No. 5. Five members of the South Central Region are represented in the national standings with Colorado School of Mines (5th), Black Hills State (6th), Colorado Mesa (16^th), Fort Lewis (17^th), and Angelo State (21^st) earning spots in the poll with WT receiving votes.
 
AROUND THE LONE STAR
Angelo State and WT continue to top the Lone Star Conference overall standings with each school holding a 11-1 LSC record.  Angelo State leads the West Division at 15-3 overall and 5-1 in LSC divisional action followed by WT (13-5, 11-1 LSC), Midwestern State (9-10, 6-7 LSC), Lubbock Christian (12-6, 8-4 LSC), Eastern New Mexico (12-6, 7-5 LSC), Western New Mexico (10-8, 4-8 LSC), UT Permian Basin (10-11, 3-9 LSC), and Cameron (4-15, 2-11 LSC). Texas A&M-Kingsville (14-6, 8-4) leads the East Division followed by St. Edward's (15-6, 9-3 LSC), Texas A&M International (12-8, 5-7 LSC), Oklahoma Christian (8-11, 4-9 LSC), UAFS (8-11, 4-9 LSC), St. Mary's (9-8, 6-6 LSC), DBU (10-10, 5-7 LSC), and UT Tyler (8-8, 4-8 LSC).
 
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Cameron notched their first pair of wins against conference opponents last week with wins over Oklahoma Christian and Arkansas-Fort Smith. The Aggies defeated the Eagles 77-60 on Thursday before taking down the Lions, 84-72.
 
Head coach Kevin O'Connor is in his first season as the head coach for the Aggies. In his first season in Lawton, O'Connor has led Cameron to a 4-15 overall record and 2-11 mark in conference play.
 
The Aggies average 71.3 points per game while their opponents are scoring 78.6 for a -7.3 scoring margin. Cameron shoots 46.0 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from behind the arc, and 70.5 percent from the free throw line to go along with 34.7 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 4.8 steals, 16.6 turnovers and 2.5 blocks.
 
DeSean Munson leads the way for the Aggies, scoring 12.3 points per game. The 6-foot-8 junior guard from Ann Arbor, Mich. is shooting 57.0 percent from the floor and 60.0 percent at the charity stripe to go along with 92 rebounds (6.1 per game), 16 blocks, and 21 assists.
 
Caylen Goff-Brown is Cameron's only other double-digit scorer with 12.1 points per game. Goff-Brown is the Aggies leading three-point shooter with 42 total makes on a 34.7 shooting percentage. Reggie Prudhomme leads Cameron with 92 total assists, a mark that ranks second in the conference and 26^th in the nation.
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series between the two programs, 43-16, with a 16-9 record in Lawton and 15-3 under head coach Tom Brown, winning the last 12 games. The Buffs won the previous meeting earlier this season 102-80, marking the programs 142nd 100-point game.
 
W, 102-80 – Canyon, 2023
W, 104-64 – Canyon, 2022
W, 85-72– Lawton, 2022
W, 103-50 – Lawton, 2021
W, 86-82 – Lawton, 2021
 
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach Tom Brown is in his ninth season at the helm of Buffalo Basketball, building the program into one of the elite NCAA Division II schools in the nation.  He has guided the Buffs to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 223-55 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 80.2%.  Brown registered his 200th career victory on Jan. 31, 2022, after the Buffs defeated St. Edward's, 82-72, to become just the third coach in program history to reach the 200-win plateau.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Julius Brown continued to show why he was selected the Lone Star Conference Preseason Player of the year, registering his second 30-point performance in three games. Brown scored 30-points, grabbed a pair of rebounds while registering four assists and one steal. WT shot 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field, 45.0% (9-of-20) from deep, 88.2% from the charity stripe with 35 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals, one block, and 11 turnovers.
 
Brown's 30 points came on 9-of-16 shooting including 3-of-7 from three-point range and an impressive 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Three other Buffs scored in double digits in the 91-79 win over UT Tyler as Addison Wallace scored 16 while bringing in a team-high eight rebounds. Larry Wise scored 14 points, brought in four rebounds, and dished out two assists while Damion Thornton added 11 points and a pair of steals in the win.
 
RECORD WATCH
Zach Toussaint is moving his way up the ladder in the program's 3-point career leaderboard.  The Johnsburg, Ill., product ranks fourth all-time with 259 threes and is two away from matching former Buff Martin Lattibeaudiere (1993-97).  David Chavlovich (2014-18) is the program's all-time 3-point leader with 388. 
 
Toussaint also ranks 12th in all-time scoring with 1,196 points and needs just 31 to crack the Top 10.  He became just the 24th player in program history to reach 1,000 career point in the Buffs Top 5 matchup against the No. 1 Northwest Missouri State in the 2022-23 season opener.
 
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 100 WATCH LIST
Senior Julius Brown was named to the Top 100 Watch List for the 2022-2023 Bevo Francis Award presented to the top player in Small College Basketball, awarded by SmallCollegeBasketball.com. The honor is awarded to a deserving player whose university is affiliated within NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
 
On February 15th, the list will be reduced to the Top 50 players. One month later on March 15th, the Top 25 players will be announced. On April 1st, the finalists of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 3rd.
 
ON THIS DAY: JAN. 26
Thursday's matchup marks the 25th time the Buffs have played on Jan. 26, last playing on this date in 2017 against Eastern New Mexico. In that matchup, WT fell to the Greyhounds 96-83 in Portales.
 
L, 83-96 – Eastern New Mexico, 2017
W, 78-70 – Southwest Christian, 2016
L, 57-71– Eastern New Mexico, 2013
L, 53-63 – Incarnate Word, 2012
W, 43-36 – Tarleton State, 201
 
LSC PRESEASON FAVORITE
The Buffs were picked to win their sixth consecutive LSC Tournament title receiving 36 o the 39 first place votes for 619 total points. DBU received 560 points to rank second followed by Lubbock Christian (2-fpv, 489), Midwestern State (460), and St. Edward's (428) closing out the top five. Texas A&M-Kingsville (399) was picked sixth followed by St. Mary's (380), Angelo State (364), UT Tyler (314), UT Permian Basin (1-fpv, 310), UAFS (293), Texas A&M International (246), Western New Mexico (145), Oklahoma Christian (134), Eastern New Mexico (95), and Cameron (68).
 
PRESEASON POY
Julius Brown, a native of Westerville, Ohio, was named the league Preseason Player of the Year after helping the Buffs to their fifth straight conference title. The D2CCA All-Region selection and LSC Newcomer of the Year averaged 16.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 42.1 percent from the floor, 31.1 percent from 3-point range and 76.8 percent from the free throw line. He scored a season-high 34 in the Buffs 83-73 victory over Angelo State in the conference quarterfinals.
 
THE LONE STAR
The 2022-23 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 men's teams in two divisions with each team playing a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against teams from the opposite division for a total of 22 conference games.
 
The LSC Basketball Championships will feature an 8-team field in 2023 with seeding based on the 22 conference games. The divisional winners will receive the top two seeds in the tournament. The championships are set to take place March 2-3-4-5, 2023, at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
 
2021-22 REVIEW
The Buffs ended the 2021-22 season 29-7 with the program's sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.  WT earned the automatic bid to the tournament after claiming the Lone Star Conference Tournament title for the fifth consecutive year, defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville 77-70 in the championship. Julius Brown earned Tournament MVP honors after leading the tournament with 76 points including 34 in the quarterfinals.  Zach Toussaint became the first player to drop 36 points in a single game since 2016 while becoming the 14th in program history to reach the milestone.
 
UP NEXT
WT wrap-ups their four-game road trip with a LSC divisional game against Midwestern State on Saturday, Jan. 28. Action between the Buffs and Mustangs starts at 3 p.m. at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls.
 
FOLLOW THE BUFFS
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