LAWTON, Okla. – The West Texas A&M men's basketball team escaped Lawton, Okla. with a 72-68 win over the upset-minded Cameron Aggies. The Buffs improve to 12-1 overall on the season and 6-0 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
The Leaders
Four Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Saturday led by Larry Wise's 16 points. Ryland Holt finished just behind Wise with 15 points followed by Ahamed Mohammed's 11. Kieran Elliott scored 10 points with eight rebounds, nearly recording a double-double. Noah Pagotto hauled in six rebounds in the game while Holt converted four steals.
 
How It Happened
WT controlled the pace early in the game as the Buffs knocked down five of their first eight shots to gain a six-point advantage at the first media timeout of the game. Following the media timeout, WT continued to control the pace by knocking down shots while forcing the Aggies into contested misses. Cameron attempted to cut into the Buffs' lead with less than seven minutes to play in the first half, bringing the game within six. WT wasted no time to push the lead back to double digits with five minutes to go in the period. Before the half ended, Cameron brought the WT lead down to one with 1:43 to play. A jumper by Mohammed with 14 seconds left sent the teams to the locker rooms with WT ahead by four.
 
After halftime, the Buffs looked to pull away, but the Aggies wouldn't go away quietly. Midway through the second half, Cameron brought the game back within two points before a Journee Phillips free throw put the lead back at three. Over the next four minutes, the two teams exchanged buckets before the Aggies took a timeout with WT up one. After a Buff turnover, Cameron took its first lead since the game's opening minutes. After trailing by one, an 8-0 run by WT regained the advantage and stretched the lead to seven. The Aggies eventually snapped the run with just under four minutes to play, starting a short run of their own.
 
In the final minute, Holt drew an offensive foul before the Buffs turned the turnover into points on the other end of the court. A pair of free throws by Cameron brought the game within three once again and went to fouling WT to preserve the clock. Wise knocked down his two shots from the charity stripe to put the Buffs up five. The Aggies made a three with less than three seconds to play before fouling Wise once again. Replicating his previous trip, the senior made both and sealed a conference win.  
 
Inside the Box Score

• WT leads the all-time series, 45-16.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 17-2 against the Aggies.
• WT shot 45.2% (28-of-62) from the field, 38.5% (5-of-13) from deep, 68.8% from the charity stripe with 28 rebounds, five assists, seven steals, one block, and eight turnovers.
• Cameron shot 40.3% (27-of-67) from the floor, 26.1% (6-of-23) from the 3-point range, 66.7% at the free throw line with 40 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals, one block, and 12 turnovers.

 
Up Next
The Buffs return to the First United Bank Center for a top-25 matchup with No. 11 Angelo State. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11.
 
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