CANYON, Texas – A second-half comeback wasn't enough as the West Texas A&M men's basketball team dropped the final game of the regular season to Lubbock Christian, 72-67. The Buffs go into the postseason with a 26-3 overall record and 20-2 mark in Lone Star Conference play.
 
The Leaders
Four Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Saturday afternoon led by a team-high 17 from Zach Toussaint. Kieran Elliott (16), Ryland Holt (13), and Ahamed Mohammed (10) also ended their night in double figures. Holt pulled in a game-high nine rebounds with a block and four steals while Mohammed dished out four assists.
 
How It Happened
After a scoring-heavy first half on Thursday night in Lubbock, the two teams combined for just 44 points on Saturday afternoon. After a back-and-forth opening minutes, a short 5-0 run from the Chaps gave them a six-point lead. A Journee Phillips jumper cut into the lead, but another 5-0 streak kept the Buffs quiet. Over the next minutes, LCU outscored WT 13-4 to build up a 14-point lead. A pair of free throws from Elliott with less than a minute to go in the half finished off the scoring as the Chaps took a 28-16 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, Holt scored 11 of the Buffs' 14 points to open the half, but LCU kept a double digit lead over WT. After the lead reached a game-high 18 points for the Chaps, the Buffs rattled off a 13-2 streak that lasted five minutes to bring the game back within single digits. A three from Ethan Duncan restored a double-digit advantage, but WT answered back once again. With less than 30 seconds to play, the Buffs made things interesting with five-straight points. After a LCU missed free throw with 16 seconds left, the Buffs gathered the rebound and went down the court. With time winding down, Brock Mishak grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed layup before passing the ball out for a three. WT's final attempt went unsuccessful as time expired on the comeback.
 
Inside the Box Score

• WT leads the all-time series, 26-10, 13-5 in Lubbock.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 11-8 against the Chaps.
• WT shot 39.1% (25-of-64) from the field, 28.0% (7-of-25) from deep, 90.9% from the charity stripe with 35 rebounds, nine assists, eight steals, one block, and eight turnovers.
• LCU shot 48.1% (25-of-52) from the floor, 52.4% (11-of-21) from the 3-point range, 84.6% at the free throw line with 34 rebounds, 11 assists, seven steals, three blocks, and 11 turnovers.

 
The Buffs, in search of their seventh-consecutive Lone Star Conference Tournament title, have qualified for their 14^th straight and 32n^d overall trip to the Lone Star Conference Championships taking place next weekend at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. WT will be the top seed and take on eighth-seed Cameron on Thursday night with tipoff set for 6 p.m.

2024 Lone Star Conference Men's Basketball Championships
Comerica Center – Frisco, Texas
 
Thursday, March 7
Quarterfinal #1 – 12:00 p.m. – (3) Lubbock Christian vs. (6) St. Edward's
Quarterfinal #2 – 2:30 p.m. – (2) DBU vs. (7) Texas A&M International
Quarterfinal #3 – 6:00 p.m. – (1) West Texas A&M vs. (8) Cameron
Quarterfinal #4 – 8:30 p.m. – (4) Eastern New Mexico vs. (5) Angelo State
 
Saturday, March 9
Semifinal #1 – 12:00 p.m. – Quarterfinal #1 Winner vs. Quarterfinal #2 Winner
Semifinal #2 – 2:30 p.m. – Quarterfinal #3 Winner vs. Quarterfinal #4 Winner
 
Sunday, March 10
Men's Championship – 1:00 p.m. – Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner
 
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