#13 West Texas A&M (7-0, 0-0) vs. Oklahoma Christian (4-1, 0-0)
Date	Thursday, December 4 | 7:30 p.m.
Location	Canyon, Texas | First United Bank Center
Follow Along	Live Stats
Watch Live	FloCollege (Pay-Per-View)
Additional Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The #13 Buffaloes of West Texas A&M begin their Lone Star Conference schedule on Thursday night as they welcome the Oklahoma Christian Eagles to the First United Bank Center with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. in Canyon.
 
FORT LEWIS REWIND
The then #15 Buffs connected 18 times from behind the arc to remain unbeaten on Saturday night as they picked up a big 105-84 regional victory over the Fort Lewis to conclude the 2025 WT Thanksgiving Classic. Fontaine Williams led the team with 29 points, converting all 11 of his free throw attempts and making four 3-pointers. Brock Mishak added nine points and dished out five assists, contributing three 3-pointers, Kemper Jones recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. James Parlow Jr. scored nine points and collected two steals.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Oklahoma Christian enters the weekend with an overall record of 4-1 as they begin LSC action in Canyon. The Eagles are 3-0 so far this season at home with their lone loss coming on the road at Southern Nazarene back on November 29th, 93-83.
 
Miles Gibson leads the way offensively for the Eagles as the junior guard from Allen, Texas has gone 28-of-46 (60.9%) from the field including 4-of-6 (66.7%) from deep and 19-of-23 (82.6%) from the free throw line to average 15.8 points to go along with 23 rebounds, nine assists, six steals and three blocks.
 
The Eagles finished the 2024-25 campaign with an overall record of 9-18 including a 6-16 mark in Lone Star Conference play to miss the LSC Championships. The Eagles feature 10 newcomers, including six transfers. Headlining those transfers is redshirt sophomore guard Ma'Syn Howell, who comes to OC from NCAA Division I North Texas.
 
OC HEAD COACH KENDRE TALLEY
Former OC standout Kendre Talley is now in his seventh season as the head men's basketball coach at Oklahoma Christian in 2024-25 after beginning serving as the program's interim head coach beginning April 5, 2019 and later being elevated to full-time head coach on January 23, 2020.
 
Since becoming interim head coach ahead of the 2019-20 season, Talley has accumulated a 59-100 overall record and a 40-81 record in Lone Star competition. Last season saw the Eagles post the most single-season victories (9) inside of the Payne Athletic Complex under Talley. In his six years, Talley has coached 11 All-Lone Star Conference selections. As a player at OC from 2010-14 Talley was a Second Team NCCAA All-American during his senior season as he scored 1,333 career points.
 
THE SERIES
Thursday night will mark the eighth all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Buffs and Eagles in a series that dates back to 2019. West Texas A&M is a perfect 7-0 in the series including a 4-0 mark inside of the First United Bank Center.
 
Last year's meeting saw the Buffs take a 20-point lead into the locker room at halftime as they pulled away for a 83-64 victory in Canyon. Amir McMillan led the way with 16 points followed by Noah Pagotto with 15 and Nicholas Jett with 10. The Buffs shot 45.5% (30-of-66) from the floor including 42.9% (12-of-28) from behind the arc in the win.
 
WT HEAD COACH TOM BROWN
Tom Brown, now in his 12th season at the helm of the West Texas A&M men's basketball program, has built the Buffs into one of the elite NCAA Division II programs in the nation.  He has guided WT to nine consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. 
 
Brown was hired as the 17th head coach in program history on April 16, 2014. In the past 10 seasons, Coach Brown and his staff are 273-62 (.815) and an average of 27 wins a season with appearances in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four (2) and National Title game. During his time in Canyon, Brown is 292-75 (.796) overall and 155-43 (.783) in league action. 
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
Defending Regional Champion Dallas Baptist claimed 42 of the possible 51 first place votes for a total of 850 points to sit atop of the poll followed by St. Mary's (two first place, 724), Lubbock Christian (four first place, 720), St. Edward's (669) and West Texas A&M (two first place, 654) to round out the top five.
 
Angelo State and Eastern New Mexico tied for sixth with 592 points followed by Midwestern State (558), UT Permian Basin (468), Texas A&M International (one first place, 350), Texas A&M-Kingsville (330), Cameron (301), Oklahoma Christian (266), UT Tyler (260), Western New Mexico (193), UT Dallas (188) and Sul Ross State (88).
 
St. Mary's Damani Claxton was tabbed the league's Preseason Player of the Year. The Bronx, New York native averaged 17.1 points, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game last season. He made 45 3-pointers and shot 80.4 percent from the free throw line. Claxton was named LSC Newcomer of the Year and earned first-team All-LSC honors.
 
NABC DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
The Buffaloes jumped two spots to 13th in this week's edition of the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Division II Top-25 Poll announced on Tuesday afternoon. The South Central Region is represented by Lubbock Christian (4th), St. Mary's (9th), St. Edward's (11th), West Texas A&M (13th), Black Hills State (21st) and Angelo State (RV). 
 
2024-25 RECAP
The 2024-25 campaign saw WT made the NCAA National Tournament for a ninth-consecutive season where three freshmen made the LSC All-Freshman team. The Buffs also posted a 3.48 GPA in the classroom, tops in the Lone Star Conference for a second consecutive year. WT was named a recipient of the National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award as Brock Mishak and Nicholas Jett were named to the NABC Honor Court.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August of 2024 for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history. Fans have two different subscription options: $19.99 per month or $107.88 per year ($8.99/month). Additionally, those who use an .edu email address from an LSC member institution will be able to sign up at a discounted subscription price of $9.99 per month or $71.88 per year ($5.99/month).