CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's basketball forced 20 Western New Mexico turnovers as the Buffs defeated the Mustangs 90-62 on Thursday night in Canyon. With the win, the Buffs improve to 11-5 overall on the season with a 6-4 record in Lone Star Conference play.
 
The Leaders
Five Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Thursday night led by 18 from both Nicholas Jett and Noah Pagotto. Ahamed Mohammed (17), Jailyn Sledge (14), and Narit Chotikavanic (11) also ended their day in double figures.  Chotikavanic recorded a team-high seven rebounds while Sledge dished out four assists with five steals. Kelson Jones blocked a game and career-high five shots in the win.
 
How It Happened
WT opened the game on a 10-2 run, setting the tone for the night early in the game. The Buffs would stretch their lead to nine as a Mohammed layup drew a foul where the junior converted his free throw attempt. Midway through the first half, WT started to pull away, but Western New Mexico hung around, bringing the Buffs' lead down to five. A 10-0 run over two minutes pushed the WT advantage to 15, but the Mustangs came charging back once again. With 1:54 left to play in the first half, Western New Mexico trailed by just six, but the Buffs extended the lead to 11 at the break.
 
In the second half, the WT defense continued to force turnovers and contested shots. The stiff defense allowed the Buffs to build an 18-point lead ahead of the under 16-minute media timeout. Jett and Mohammed teamed up for six unanswered points, bringing the lead to 22 with 12 minutes to play. With under three minutes to play, back-to-back three pointers from Jett followed by a Kelson Jones free throw put the lead at a game-high 32. Four points by the Mustangs in the final minute closed the scoring with WT holding a 90-62 advantage at the final horn.
 
WT finishes its short home stand on Saturday, Jan. 18 against Sul Ross State. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Inside the Box Score

• The Buffs lead the all-time series with Western New Mexico, 21-4.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 16-0 against the Mustangs.
• WT shot 46.4% (32-of-69) from the field, 28.6% (8-of-28) from deep, 81.8% (18-of-22) from the charity stripe with 38 rebounds, 17 assists, nine steals, nine blocks, and nine turnovers.
• Western New Mexico shot 37.9% (25-of-66) from the floor, 30.0% (6-of-20) from the 3-point range, 60.0% (6-of-10) at the free throw line with 43 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals, two blocks, and 20 turnovers.

 
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