CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M men's basketball fell to the Midwestern State Mustangs on Friday night in Canyon, 70-69. The Buffs fall to 9-3 on the season and 4-2 in Lone Star Conference play while the Mustangs improve to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in league play.
The Leaders
Four Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Friday night led by a team-high 15 from
Noah Pagotto.
Ahamed Mohammed (13),
Jailyn Sledge (12), and
Amir McMillian (12) also ended their day in double figures.
Mackenzie Morgan and
Jailyn Sledge hauled in five rebounds each while Mohammed dished out four assists. Sledge's defense also produced two blocks and three steals.
How It Happened
After the two team's exchanged buckets to open the scoring, WT used a 13-3 run over nearly three minutes to build a double-digit lead. The lead reached as high as 13 for the Buffs before Midwestern State started to cut down WT's advantage. The Mustangs came within six with five to play in the opening half, but a Sledge floater capped the scoring in the first half. In the half's final four minutes, the Buffs and Mustangs went a combined 0-for-10 from the field and two turnovers.
After halftime, Midwestern State tied the game on back-to-back three's with 15:44 to play before McMillian answered with a three of his own to restore the lead ahead of the under-16 minute media timeout. A pair of free throws returned the Buffs lead to three, but a 5-0 burst from Midwestern State put the Mustangs on top for the first time. A pair of three's allowed WT to retake the lead, but back-and-forth action continued as the teams went into the final media timeout tied at 60. As the clock went under a minute to play, Pierre Sanders drove the lane to give the Mustangs a 68-66 lead with 48 seconds remaining. Another Sanders floater with 10 seconds to play sent the game to the final possession with Midwestern State up, 70-69. On the final play of the game, the Buffs couldn't come up with the winning bucket as the Mustang defense closed off the lane.
WT faces rival Lubbock Christian on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 3 p.m. to finish out the weekend.
Inside the Box Score
- The Buffs lead the all-time series with Midwestern State, 45-35.
- Head coach Tom Brown moves to 13-7 against the Mustangs.
- WT shot 42.9% (24-of-56) from the field, 40.6% (13-of-32) from deep, 72.7% (8-of-11) from the charity stripe with 33 rebounds, 13 assists, seven steals, three blocks, and 11 turnovers.
- Midwestern State shot 48.1% (26-of-54) from the floor, 45.8% (11-of-24) from the 3-point range, 77.8% (7-of-9) at the free throw line with 30 rebounds, 11 assists, six steals, two blocks, and 11 turnovers.
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