CANYON, Texas – On Thursday night, the West Texas A&M men's basketball team defeated the St. Mary's Rattlers 89-85 in a physical Lone Star Conference game at the First United Bank Center in Canyon. With the win, the Buffs improve to12-8 in conference action and 17-9 on the season.
 
The Leaders
Four Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Thursday night led by a career-high 22 from Mackenzie Morgan. Ahamed Mohammed (21), Narit Chotikavanic (19), and Noah Pagotto (13) also ended their night in double figures. Pagotto recorded a team-high nine rebounds while Mohammed dished out seven assists. Jailyn Sledge converted four steals with two blocks.  
 
How It Happened
Points were hard to come by in the game's opening minutes as both teams converted a pair of shots from behind the arc before going quiet ahead of the first media timeout of the game. The back-and-forth action continued for most of the first half until WT rattled off seven unanswered points to take an eight-point lead with seven and a half to play in the period. Another 7-0 run from the Buffs extended the lead to double digits, but St. Mary's outscored WT 12-2 in the last 2:27 to force a 34-34 tie at the half.
 
The physicality from the first half carried over with the Rattlers striking first before an 11-2 run from the Buffs established a seven-point advantage. With WT holding a lead, St. Mary's fought to get back in the game with the Buffs answering back with every blow. Midway through the half, WT went on another big run, stretching its lead to 15. As the Buffs looked to put the game away, the Rattlers started to mount a comeback, bringing the game back within five with 1:23 to play. Back-to-back buckets from Damani Claxton with less than 25 seconds to play brought the score to 87-85 in favor of WT, but a pair of free throws from Mohammed closed out the win.
 
WT faces St. Edward's on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the First United Bank Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
Inside the Box Score

• The Buffs lead the all-time series with St. Mary's, 20-2.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 4-1 against the Rattlers.
• WT shot 50.0% (26-of-52) from the field, 52.0% (13-of-25) from deep, 68.6% (24-of-25) from the charity stripe with 27 rebounds, 13 assists, nine steals, four blocks, and nine turnovers.
• St. Mary's shot 56.4% (31-of-55) from the floor, 50.0% (7-of-14) from the 3-point range, 76.2% (16-of-21) at the free throw line with 33 rebounds, nine assists, seven steals, four blocks, and 15 turnovers.

 
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