Championship Central
 
FRISCO, Texas – On Friday afternoon, a strong second half from the West Texas A&M men's basketball team sent the Buffs to the Lone Star Conference Tournament semifinals. The Buffs trailed by eight entering halftime before outscoring Midwestern State 44-23 in the second half to defeat the Mustangs, 70-57. WT improves to 19-10 on the season while Midwestern State falls to 22-7.
 
The Leaders
Three Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Friday afternoon led by a game-high 25 from Ahamed Mohammed. Narit Chotikavanic (18) and Noah Pagotto (17) also ended their night in double figures. Kemper Jones hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds while Chotikavanic notched a team-high three assists and five steals.
 
How It Happened
Midwestern State opened the scoring with a three before a long ball from Mohammed tied the game a minute and a half later. A layup from the Mustangs took the lead ahead of the first media timeout, but a Bob Griechen layup following the break knotted the score at five. As the Buffs started to cool off from the field, Midwestern State rattled off 10-unanswered sports to take a double-digit lead at the under-12 minute media timeout. Six free throws extended the Mustangs' lead to a first-half high 15 before five points from the Buffs cut into the lead. With less than a minute to play in the half, an 8-0 run brought the game back within six. A pair of free throws from Midwestern State in the final 30 seconds sent the teams to the locker room with a 34-26 score in favor of the Mustangs.
 
After halftime, a 6-2 run from the Buffs brought the game within four before a 7-0 streak a few minutes later tied the game at 39. With 11:23 to play in the game, an offensive putback from Jones gave WT their first lead of day at 41-40. Ahead of the under-eight media timeout, a Pagotto jumper put the Buffs up six. WT stretched its lead to 17 with 1:54 to play before Midwestern State knocked down right after. In the final 90 seconds, the Buffs closed out the game to advance to the conference semifinals.
 
WT awaits the winner of No. 2 Lubbock Christian and No. 7 Eastern New Mexico. The LSC Semifinal matchup is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
 
Inside the Box Score

• The Buffs lead the all-time series with Midwestern State, 46-36.
• Head coach Tom Brown moves to 14-8 against the Mustangs.
• WT shot 33.9% (21-of-62) from the field, 29.2% (7-of-24) from deep, 87.5% (21-of-24) from the charity stripe with 46 rebounds, eight assists, eight steals, one block, and eight turnovers.
• Midwestern State shot 32.1% (18-of-56) from the floor, 20.8% (5-of-24) from the 3-point range, 69.6% (16-of-23) at the free throw line with 39 rebounds, seven assists, five steals, two blocks, and 10 turnovers.

 
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