CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's basketball team finished their home schedule with a 68-55 win over rival Lubbock Christian. The Buffs improved to 21-6 overall and 19-2 in Lone Star Conference play while the Chaps slipped to 18-9. 14-7 in conference play.
 
The Leaders
Zach Toussaint led WT in scoring with 15 points to go along with two rebounds and a steal. Two other Buffs reached double digits as Damion Thornton scored 14 and Julius Brown added 13. Thornton pulled in a game-high nine rebounds, coming one rebound shy of a double-double. Addison Wallace posted a team-high two steals while Ryland Holt dished out three assists.
 
How It Happened
The Buffs and Chaps started the first half in a defensive battle with neither team finding an advantage. At the first media timeout of the night, WT and LCU each shot 3-of-6 from the field for a 6-6 tie. Over the next minutes, the Buffs' defense started to set the tone, leading to a 6-0 run by WT. The Chaps started to fight their way back into the game, but turnovers slowed the LCU momentum. At the break, the Buffs held a 12-3 advantage in turnovers while holding the Chaps to 22 first-half points.
 
Lubbock Christian found a scoring run to open the half, outscoring WT 10-4 to open the period. The offense went cold for the Chaps when the Buff defense stepped up following the media timeout. A 16-6 run by WT created the separation the Buffs needed to start draining the clock. Toussaint put an exclamation point on the win by nailing a three pointer from 40 feet out. Down the stretch, LCU matched WT's buckets, but the distance was too much for the Chaps to close as the Buffs took the divisional matchup.
 
Inside the Box Score

• WT leads the all-time series 21-8, 12-4 in Canyon.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 8-7 against the Chaps.
• WT shot 41.8% (23-of-55) from the field, 26.9% (7-of-26) from deep, 71.4% (15-of-21) from the charity stripe with 30 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, four blocks, and eight turnovers.
• LCU shot 43.8% (21-of-48) from the floor, 6.3% (1-of-16) from 3-point range, 85.7% (12-of-14) at the free throw line with 30 rebounds, two assists, three steals, and 17 turnovers.
• The Buffs posted their first undefeated season at home since the 2019-2020 season.

 
Up Next
WT looks to secure the regular season Lone Star Conference title with a win at Lubbock Christian on Saturday. Action between the Buffs and Chaps starts at 3 p.m. at the Rip Griffin Center.
 
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