CANYON, Texas -- The West Texas A&M men's basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Semifinals with an 81-66 win over Angelo State on Saturday. The Buffs improve their record to 27-4 overall with the win including 12-2 inside the First United Bank Center.
 
The Leaders
Four Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Saturday night led by a game-high 26 from Larry Wise. Zach Toussaint (19), Kieran Elliott (16), and Ryland Holt (15) also ended their night in double figures. Holt pulled in a game-high nine rebounds with two blocks and two steals while Ahamed Mohammed dished out five assists.
 
How It Happened
The Buffs opened the regional quarterfinal game on a 7-0 run, igniting the home crowd. A Willie Guy three snapped the run, but WT scored four more points to take an 11-4 lead. The Buffs held on to the lead until 10:12 mark where Guy hit another three to tie the game. Angelo State took its first lead of the game with 7:54 to play in the first half, but WT answered back. With less than four minutes to play in the first half, the Buffs rattled off an 11-0 run to build a double-digit lead at the half.
 
WT continued to keep the Rams at a distance to open the second half despite multiple Angelo State attempts to start a run. A seven-point streak from the Buffs put WT up 20 with 16 minutes to play. A Mohammed floater in the paint with 13:30 to play put the top-seeded Buffs up 22, but Angelo State wouldn't go away quietly. After the made shot, the Rams went on an 8-0 streak of their own to bring the lead down to 14. That deficit was the closest Angelo State could get as the lead hovered around 14 points for the remainder of the time.
 
Inside the Box Score

• WT leads the all-time series, 59-26, 36-6 at neutral sites.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 20-5 against the Rams.
• WT shot 44.9% (22-of-49) from the field, 40.7% (11-of-27) from deep, 86.7% from the charity stripe with 30 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, two blocks, and six turnovers.
• Angelo State shot 43.2% (19-of-44) from the floor, 52.6% (10-of-19) from the 3-point range, 72.0% at the free throw line with 24 rebounds, six assists, five steals, four blocks, and 12 turnovers.

 
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