CANYON, Texas – After a back-and-forth battle, the West Texas A&M men's basketball team couldn't hit shots down the stretch as the Buffs' comeback against the Rams of Angelo State fell short, 62-59. The Buffs fall to 14-9 overall and 9-8 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
The Leaders
Three Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Saturday afternoon led by 18 from Noah Pagotto and Narit Chotikavanic. Mackenzie Morgan (14) also ended his day in double figures.  Morgan and Pagotto hauled in seven rebounds while Chotikavanic dished out two steals and Jailyn Sledge recorded two steals.
 
How It Happened
A slow start from the Buffs allowed Angelo State to take a 12-1 advantage at the first media timeout of the game. WT went to work on cutting into the Rams' lead, using a 7-0 run to close the gap. After an Angelo State bucket and a foul, four quick points brought the game back within a possession at three points. The Rams pushed their lead back to seven, but an extended run from WT tied the game at 21 with 6:35 to play in the first half. The two teams exchanged blows, but Angelo State remained in the lead. A pair of Chotikavanic free throws with 82 seconds to go tied the game, but the Rams took a two-point lead into halftime.
 
After the break, back-to-back buckets from Pagotto and Morgan gave the Buffs their first lead of the game. 13 seconds later, the Rams restored their lead, but a 9-2 streak put WT up six ahead of the under-12 media timeout. Over the game's next minutes, the Buffs and Rams exchanged the lead until Angelo State made the difference five with 1:55 to play. Although WT fought to make a last-second comeback, the Rams closed the game out on free throws with eight seconds to play.
 
The Buffs hit the road to battle Sul Ross State on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Alpine, Texas
 
Inside the Box Score

• The Buffs lead the all-time series with Angelo State, 60-27.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 21-6 against the Rams.
• WT shot 33.9% (20-of-59) from the field, 14.8% (4-of-27) from deep, 75.0% (15-of-20) from the charity stripe with 37 rebounds, five assists, two steals, no blocks, and 10 turnovers.
• Angelo State shot 42.9% (21-of-49) from the floor, 11.1% (1-of-9) from the 3-point range, 90.5% (19-of-21) at the free throw line with 32 rebounds, eight assists, five steals, five blocks, and 14 turnovers.

 
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