CANYON, Texas – The Buffaloes of West Texas A&M scored 36 unanswered points on Saturday afternoon as they picked up a 42-24 Lone Star Conference victory over the rival Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds to win the 36^th Wagon Wheel Game at Steve Loy Family Foundation Stadium in Portales, New Mexico.
 
The Buffs marched down the field on their opening drive as Tre'Jon Henderson picked up 55 yards on eight carries during the first possession as he found the endzone from five yards out for the early lead. The Hounds responded on their first drive as a pair of conversions on fourth and short led to a Ron Craten 15-yard touchdown as ENMU took the 7-6 advantage.
 
ENMU marched down the field on their next possession to start the second quarter as they went 80-yards on six plays with Craten scoring his second touchdown of the afternoon from a yard out for the 14-6 lead. The Hounds looked to take advantage of a WT miscue on special teams on a muffed punt as Cooper Hamilton hit a 38-yard field goal to extend the lead to 17-6.
 
WT answered back on their next drive as a big 25-yard reception by Tyrie Tipton setup a 22-yard rushing touchdown by Jamaal Joseph followed by a Kanon Gibson two-point conversion rush cut the lead to 17-14. The Buffalo defense came up with a big play on ENMU's next drive as Sosa Sokimi forced a fumble that was recovered by Jamel Acosta-Lewis, WT converted on fourth and short as Gibson called his own number from 13-yards out to make it 21-17.
 
The Buffs extended their lead right before halftime as a big stop on defense and a short punt by the Greyhounds setup a short field, Gibson did the rest as a dropped a perfect pass to Tucker Swoboda from 36-yards out to make it 28-17. WT would force another turnover as Ty Dillon picked off a Hounds pass on fourth, the Buffs would look to score heading into the locker room but a missed field goal as time expired kept it at 28-17.
 
WT added to their lead to start the second half as a six-play drive that spanned 88 yards was finished off by a 44-yard touchdown on the ground by Henderson to make it 35-17. The Buffs added to their lead later in the quarter as Gibson called his own number again, this time from 11-yards out for the 42-17 lead.
 
ENMU made their first big play on defense midway thru the fourth quarter as Dylan Gordon picked off a Sean Johnson pass and took it 54 yards to the endzone to make it 42-24. 
 
Gibson finished the afternoon completing 14-of-21 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown while carrying the ball seven times for 54 yards and a pair of score. Henderson led the Buffs on the ground with 173 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns. Swoboda caught four passes for a team-high 73 yards and a touchdown.
 
Defensively, JT Cavender registered 15 tackles (seven solo) with a sack in his final Wagon Wheel game followed by Zach Schalger with 11 tackles.
 
The Buffs return to the gridiron next Saturday night as they host the Falcons of UT Permian Basin in Lone Star Conference action with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium. The game is presented by Carpet Tech and will feature a "Pink Out" to raise awareness for breast cancer in partnership with Texas Oncology.