| West Texas A&M (16-9, 11-8 LSC) vs. St. Mary's (18-6, 15-3 LSC) |
| Date & Time |
Thursday, February 20th at 7:20 p.m. |
| Location |
Canyon, Texas | First United Bank Center |
| Live Statistics |
StatBroadcast |
| Live Video (Pay Per View) |
FloCollege |
| Other Links |
Game Notes |
CANYON, Texas – After finishing out its regular-season road schedule, the West Texas A&M men's basketball returns to the friendly confines of the First United Bank Center on Thursday, Feb. 20 when the Rattlers of St. Mary's comes to Canyon. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE
The Athletic Communications Department from West Texas A&M will provide live stats and a pay-per-view web stream. Fans will need to purchase a monthly ($19.99) or annual ($107.88) subscription with FloSports, the official streaming provider of the Lone Star Conference. The subscription allows fans access to any content available on FloSports.
A LOOK AT THE BUFFS
The Buffs are led by junior guard
Ahamed Mohammed who averages 17.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while tallying 58 assists.
Noah Pagotto follows Mohammed with 14.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
Jailyn Sledge paces the team with 6.4 rebounds per game while making 45 steals and 22 blocks.
SCOUTING ST. MARY'S
The Rattlers come to Canyon after a heartbreaking 79-74 overtime loss to Cameron, dropping their overall record to 18-6 and conference record to 15-3. St. Mary's is led by head coach Bubba Meyer who is in his second season in San Antonio and second overall. Bunker has produced an 30-22 record in his career as the head coach of the Rattlers.
On the season, St. Mary's averages 73.9 points per game on 45.0 percent shooting from the field while giving up 67.1 points per game to opponents. Two players average double-digit scoring for the Rattlers led by Damani Claxton's 16.8 points per game. Lachlan Bofinger (13.5) also averages double figures with a team-leading 10.0 rebounds per game. Bofinger also paces St. Mary's with 76 assists and 21 blocks while Claxton leads the team with 35 steals.
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with St. Mary's 19-2 including 9-0 in Canyon. The Buffs and Rattlers have a limited Lone Star Conference history with WT winning three of the four conference matchups including a 96-91 win in San Antonio last season.
Tom Brown is 3-1 against St. Mary's in his tenure at the helm of the WT program.
W, 96-91 – San Antonio, 2024
W, 85-67 – Canyon, 2023
L, 96-100 (OT) – San Antonio, 2022
W, 96-77 – San Antonio, 2019
W, 67-55 – Topeka (NCAA), 2001
LAST TIME OUT
West Texas A&M men's basketball continued its postseason push on Saturday afternoon with an 83-58 victory over the Western New Mexico Mustangs. The Buffs improve to 11-8 in Lone Star Conference play and 16-9 overall on the season. Five Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Saturday afternoon led by 14 from both
Ahamed Mohammed and
Kemper Jones.
Narit Chotikavanic (13),
Jailyn Sledge (11), and
Bob Griechen (11) also ended their day in double figures. Griechen and
Noah Pagotto recorded nine rebounds each in the win. Chotikavanic and Mohammed dished out five assists each while Sledge recorded two blocks and two steals.
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach
Tom Brown enters his 11th season at the helm of Buffalo Basketball, building the program into one of the elite NCAA Division II schools in the nation. He has guided the Buffs to seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 282-71 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 79.9%. Brown registered his 250
th career victory on Jan. 13, 2024, after the Buffs defeated UT Permian Basin, 77-69, to become just the second coach in program history to reach the 250-win plateau.
NABC TOP 25 POLL
Daemen took over the top spot with 12 first-place votes and 394 points after Washburn suffered two losses last week. Nova Southeastern received the final two first-place votes and 388 points to move into the No. 2 spot. Alabama Huntsville moved to No. 3 with 369 points followed by Washburn (340) and DBU (335) to finish the top five. Lincoln Memorial (316), Colorado School of Mines (299), West Liberty (297), Valdosta State (242), and Columbus State (239) make up the remainder of the top 10.
The South Central Region is represented by three teams in the poll with DBU leading the way at No. 5. Colorado School of Mines (7
th) and Lubbock Christian (23
rd) also earned spots in the poll. Midwestern State and St. Mary's received votes in the poll.
ON THIS DAY: FEB. 20
Thursday's game marks the 34
th time the Buffs have played on this date and first since 2021. WT is 21-12 in games on Feb. 20 including 2-1 under
Tom Brown. The Buffs are 4-1 in their last five games on this date and 8-2 in their last 10.
W, 103-50 – Cameron, 2021
W, 73-62 – UT Tyler, 2020
L, 82-87 – Tarleton State, 2016
W, 69-51 – Texas A&M-Kingsville, 2008
W, 79-64 – Abilene Christian, 2003
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 100 WATCH LIST
West Texas A&M junior
Ahamed Mohammed was named to the Top 100 Watch List for the 2024-2025 Bevo Francis Award presented to the top player in Small College Basketball, awarded by SmallCollegeBasketball.com. The honor is awarded to a deserving player whose university is affiliated within NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
On February 15
th, the list will be reduced to the Top 50 players. One month later on March 15
th, the Top 25 players will be announced. The finalists for the Bevo Francis Award will be on April 5
th with the winner announced on April 7
th. More information will be available in the coming months.
LSC PRESEASON FAVORITE
WT earned the top spot in the poll with 28 first-place votes and 687 points followed by Dallas Baptist with 12 first-place votes and 671 points. Lubbock Christian (4 fpv, 628) took the third spot while Angelo State (555) and St. Edward's (545) make up the top five. Texas A&M International (1 fpv, 427), Eastern New Mexico (391), Cameron (386), UT Permian Basin (338), and Oklahoma Christian hold the sixth through 10
th spots, respectively. Midwestern State (318), St. Mary's (313), Texas A&M-Kingsville (198), UT Tyler (152), Western New Mexico (124), and Sul Ross State (63) finish out the poll.
THE LONE STAR
The 2024-25 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 men's teams in two divisions with each team playing a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against teams from the opposite division for a total of 22 conference games.
The Lone Star Conference presents its 51st men's basketball tournament March 7-8-9, 2025, played at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The eight-team bracket includes the East and West Division winners, who automatically receive berths, with the remaining qualifiers and seeding based on results versus all LSC teams. The Division II Men's Basketball Championship starts with regionals March 14-18 at campus sites and continues to the Elite Eight March 25-29 in Evansville, Ind.
2023-24 REVIEW
The Buffs returned to the Final Four in the 2023-24 season, capturing the program's fifth regional title. Despite seeing its run of consecutive Lone Star Conference tournament titles come to an end, WT earned the top seed in the South Central region, hosting the regional tournament for the second consecutive year. The Buffs swept their way through the regional tournament, defeating eight-seeded Angelo State and fourth-seeded and No. 12-ranked Dallas Baptist to reach the championship game. Facing off against third-seeded and No. 6-ranked Colorado Mesa, a big second half lifted the Buffs to the regional title with
Larry Wise earning Tournament MVP honors. At the Elite Eight, WT defeated fifth-seeded and No. 14-ranked North Georgia 90-76 to advance to the Final Four where top-seeded Minnesota State outlasted the Buffs, 79-72.
HOME SWEET HOME
West Texas A&M is home to one of the finest multi-purpose facilities in the country as the First United Bank Center has served as the home of the Buffaloes since January 26, 2002. The Buffaloes are a staggering 275-59 inside of the FUBC during that time for a winning clip of 82.3%. The Buffs are an astounding 154-18 at the First United Bank Center under
Tom Brown including three undefeated seasons at home.
HOME OF CHAMPIONS
West Texas A&M is home to one of the most successful athletic programs in all of NCAA Division II.
The Buffs and Lady Buffs finished third in the 2023-24 Division II LEARFIELD Director's Cup standings. It marked the sixth straight and eighth overall time that WT finished inside of the Top 10 including the fifth straight inside of the Top 5.
UP NEXT
WT faces St. Edward's on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the First United Bank Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
FOLLOW THE BUFFS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Buff action on online and on social media. Follow the Buffs on X (@WTAMU_MBB), Instagram (@wtamu_mbb), and Facebook (/WTAMUMBB).
