CANYON, Texas – On Sunday evening, West Texas A&M junior guard Ryland Holt posted a season-high 23 points to lead the Buffs over Lone Star Conference foe, Angelo State. The win improved WT's record to 27-6 overall and advanced the Buffs into Tuesday's South Central Region Championship game.
 
The Leaders
Holt led WT with 23 points and seven rebounds to go along with two blocks, three steals, and an assist. Julius Brown recorded his ninth 20-point performance of the season, scoring 21 points with five assists. Addison Wallace pulled in a game-high 11 rebounds in the victory.
 
How It Happened
Angelo State came out of the opening tip making contested shots and grabbing offensive rebounds, forcing WT to adapt on defense. While the Rams were sinking shots, the Buffs couldn't score on the other end of the court. At the first media timeout, Angelo State held WT without a point on 0-of-3 shooting from the field and three turnovers. The offense slowly built for the Buffs as they strung together an eight-point streak to take their first lead of the night. An Ahamed Mohammed shot from deep put the Buffs up three, but the Rams responded with a pull-up jumper to cut the deficit to one at the half.
 
Angelo State battled back from the one-point halftime deficit by opening the half with four quick points. The Buffs and Rams exchanged buckets as the game didn't separate from two points on either side. That changed when Zach Toussaint buried a triple to give WT a five-point lead with just over 11 minutes to play. The Buffs used the momentum gained by Toussaint to build a 10-point separation with five minutes to go. Angelo State brought the game within six over the course of the final minutes, but WT free throws sealed out the win.
 
Inside the Box Score

• WT leads the all-time series 57-26 overall, 33-6 in Canyon.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 17-5 against the Rams.
• WT shot 37.7% (20-of-53) from the field, 41.7% (10-of-24) from deep, 70.4% (19-of-27) from the charity stripe with 34 rebounds, 10 assists, six steals, four blocks, and 12 turnovers.
• ASU shot 38.5% (20-of-52) from the floor, 28.6% (6-of-21) from the 3-point range, 68.4% (13-of-19) at the free throw line with 34 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, five steals and 14 turnovers.

 
Up Next
WT faces Black Hills State on Tuesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. for a spot in the Elite Eight held in Evansville, Ind.
 
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