Date	Time	Opponent	Location	Venue	Links
Friday, December 20	1 p.m. CT	Fort Lewis	Durango, Colo.	Whalen Gynasium	Stats | RMAC Network | Game Notes

 
CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M men's basketball closes out the 2024 calendar year with a road trip to Durango, Colo. where the Buffs will matchup against the Fort Lewis Skyhawks. The Buffs (8-1, 3-1 LSC) and Skyhawks (7-5, 2-2 RMAC) are slated to begin play at 1 p.m. Central.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Athletic Communications Department from Fort Lewis will provide live stats and a free-to-watch web stream. The in-region matchup will be broadcast on the RMAC Network. Links for live stats and live stream can be found on gobuffsgo.com.
 
A LOOK AT THE BUFFS
The Buffs are led by junior guard Ahamed Mohammed who averages 18.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Noah Pagotto follows Mohammed with 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Jailyn Sledge paces the team with 6.6 rebounds per game while making 17 steals. Isaac Ayoubi leads the team with 35 assists while Pagotto has blocked nine shots. 
 
SCOUTING FORT LEWIS
The Skyhawks host WT with an overall record of 7-5 including 2-2 in RMAC play after an 88-71 victory over Adams State on Thursday, Dec. 12. Fort Lewis is led by head coach Jordan Mast who is in his sixth season as a head coach and first at Fort Lewis. Mast has produced an 7-5 record at the helm of the Skyhawks with a 106-31 mark in his career.
 
On the season, Fort Lewis averages 73.1 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting from the field while giving up 70.6 points per game to opponents. Three players for the average double-digit scoring for the Skyhawks paced by Biko Johnson's 15.3 per contest. Tru Allen (13.2) and Chuol Deng (12.5) also average double-figures. Deng leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per game and 20 blocks. Allen paces the team with 39 assists with Stewart Erhart leading the team with 25 steals. 
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with Fort Lewis, 8-2. The two teams last met in 2016 where the Buffs defeated the Skyhawks 90-82 in Canyon.  Tom Brown is 1-1 against Fort Lewis in his tenure at the helm of the Buffs.
 
W, 90-82 – Canyon, 2016
L, 81-91 – Durango, 2015
W, 85-69 – Canyon, 2000
L, 75-85 – Alamosa, 2000
W, 70-60 – Durango, 1999
 
LAST TIME OUT
On Tuesday afternoon, the West Texas A&M men's basketball team needed overtime to outlast the Texas A&M International Dustdevils, 66-65. The Buffs improve to 9-1 overall on the season and 4-1 in Lone Star Conference play. Three Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Tuesday afternoon led by a team-high 14 from Noah Pagotto. Ahamed Mohammed (13) and Narit Chotikavanic (11) also ended their day in double figures. Pagotto paced the team with nine rebounds while Isaac Ayoubi dished out five assists.
 
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach Tom Brown enters his 11th 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 seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 275-63 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 81.4%.  Brown registered his 250^th career victory on Jan. 13, 2024, after the Buffs defeated UT Permian Basin, 77-69, to become just the second coach in program history to reach the 250-win plateau. 


NABC TOP 25 POLL
Nova Southeastern remained in the top spot with 15 first-place votes and 399 points followed by Washburn (381) and West Liberty (366). Daemen received the remaining first-place vote for 324 points with Ferris State (321) closing out the top five. MSU Moorhead (307) and Fairmont State (293) sit ahead of WT with North Georgia (267) and Colorado School of Mines (248) closing out the top 10.
 
The South Central Region is represented by four teams in the poll with WT leading the way. Colorado School of Mines (10^th), DBU (15^th), and MSU Denver (22^nd) also earned spots in the poll.
 
ON THIS DAY: DEC. 20
Friday's game marks the 16^th time the Buffs have played on this date and first since 2014. WT is 9-6 in games on Dec. 20 including 1-0 under Tom Brown. The Buffs are 4-1 in their last five games on this date and 7-3 in their last 10.
 
W, 67-59 – Missouri St. Louis, 2014
W, 63-53 – Northeastern State, 2010
L, 65-68 – Fort Hays State, 1991
W, 68-66 – Houston, 1986
W, 90-71 – Montana State-Billings, 1983
 
LSC PRESEASON FAVORITE
WT earned the top spot in the poll with 28 first-place votes and 687 points followed by Dallas Baptist with 12 first-place votes and 671 points. Lubbock Christian (4 fpv, 628) took the third spot while Angelo State (555) and St. Edward's (545) make up the top five. Texas A&M International (1 fpv, 427), Eastern New Mexico (391), Cameron (386), UT Permian Basin (338), and Oklahoma Christian hold the sixth through 10^th spots, respectively. Midwestern State (318), St. Mary's (313), Texas A&M-Kingsville (198), UT Tyler (152), Western New Mexico (124), and Sul Ross State (63) finish out the poll.
 
THE LONE STAR
The 2024-25 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 Lone Star Conference presents its 51st men's basketball tournament March 7-8-9, 2025, played at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The eight-team bracket includes the East and West Division winners, who automatically receive berths, with the remaining qualifiers and seeding based on results versus all LSC teams. The Division II Men's Basketball Championship starts with regionals March 14-18 at campus sites and continues to the Elite Eight March 25-29 in Evansville, Ind.
 
2023-24 REVIEW
The Buffs returned to the Final Four in the 2023-24 season, capturing the program's fifth regional title. Despite seeing its run of consecutive Lone Star Conference tournament titles come to an end, WT earned the top seed in the South Central region, hosting the regional tournament for the second consecutive year. The Buffs swept their way through the regional tournament, defeating eight-seeded Angelo State and fourth-seeded and No. 12-ranked Dallas Baptist to reach the championship game. Facing off against third-seeded and No. 6-ranked Colorado Mesa, a big second half lifted the Buffs to the regional title with Larry Wise earning Tournament MVP honors. At the Elite Eight, WT defeated fifth-seeded and No. 14-ranked North Georgia 90-76 to advance to the Final Four where top-seeded Minnesota State outlasted the Buffs, 79-72.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
West Texas A&M is home to one of the finest multi-purpose facilities in the country as the First United Bank Center has served as the home of the Buffaloes since January 26, 2002. The Buffaloes are a staggering 272-56 inside of the FUBC during that time for a winning clip of 82.9%. The Buffs are an astounding 151-15 at the First United Bank Center under Tom Brown including three undefeated seasons at home.
 
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II.
 
The Buffs and Lady Buffs finished third in the 2023-24 Division II LEARFIELD Director's Cup standings. It marked the sixth straight and eighth overall time that WT finished inside of the Top 10 including the fifth straight inside of the Top 5.
 
UP NEXT
The Buffs return to action on Friday, Dec. 3 when Midwestern State visits Canyon for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.
 
FOLLOW THE BUFFS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Buff action on online and on social media.  Follow the Buffs on X (@WestTXD2Hoops), Instagram (@WTAMU_MBB), and Facebook (/WTAMUMBB).