CANYON, TEXAS – West Texas A&M Men's Basketball (3-0, 0-0 LSC) play their first home game of the season on Monday, November 9 as they take on Oklahoma Panhandle State. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. at the First United Bank Center.
 
Follow the Buffs
Monday's game will be streamed live on Flo Sports (registration required). Live Stats will be provided by West Texas A&M. Tickets for the game can be purchased here.
 
Last Time Out
West Texas A&M opened up their season last weekend in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin as they competed in the Midwest Tip-Off Challenge.
 
Buffs Take Down RV Lincoln Memorial 75-63 in Season Opening Win- October 30, 2026
The opening seven minutes of the game was a back-and-forth battle with neither team able to hold more than a possession lead. LMU would slowly build up a five-point lead after a layup to set the score at 16-11. At the 10:37 mark, James Parlow Jr. had a steal and score on a fast break to cut the deficit to two points. Two minutes later, a jumper by Max George tied the game at 17, which was followed by a triple from Ben Walton to give WT the lead with 8:16 left in the half. The run continued for the Buffaloes as Ryder Cheesman finished inside and free throws by Jailyn Sledge capped off the 11-0 over a three-minute span. West Texas A&M held firm on that lead the remainder of the half as Parlow capped off the first 20 minutes with an and-one in the paint giving WT a 38-31 halftime lead.
 
The Buffs opened up the second half with a 6-0 run, pushing their lead to 13. They held Lincoln Memorial without a bucket for the first three and a half minutes of the first half. WT kept growing their lead as Walton cashed another three to extend the lead to 19 with 14 minutes left to play. West Texas A&M continued to break the game open as they held a lead as big as 22. Lincoln Memorial got as close as 11 points the rest of the way, but WT halted their momentum with timely makes. The score would finalize with the Buffs coming out on top with a 75-63 win. On the defensive end, WT held the Railsplitters to 34.6% shooting in the second half with only two made threes.
 
Top Buffs

• James Parlow Jr. led WT with 17 points on an efficient 8/13 shooting. Parlow Jr. added five rebounds, three steals, and an assist.
• Ryder Cheesman stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points (6/12), seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Four of those rebounds were offensive and he made three of his four free throws.
• Logan Gibson went 3/3 from the field as he tallied eight points and four rebounds. He added a block and steal in his 14 minutes.

 
Hot Shooting Pushes Buffs Past Central Oklahoma 81-70- October 31, 2026
WT found themselves in an early 7-0 hole but were able to respond with threes by Logan Gibson and Max George. The teams then traded runs where UCO rebuilt their seven-point lead at 6-0 before George cashed his second three gave the Buffaloes their first lead of the game at 14-13. The teams battled back and forth but a strong defensive stretch helped West Texas A&M build up an eight-point lead following a dunk by Austin Prosser. The Buffs had a five-minute defensive stretch where they held the Bronchos scoreless. WT held firm on their lead the rest of the half as Ryder Cheesman finished a layup with one second remaining to set the score at 39-32 going into the break.
 
In the second half, Joel Robinson set the tone with a three before finishing an and-one to push the lead up to 13 a minute and a half into the second half. Central Oklahoma chipped away over the next 10 minutes as they battled back to tie the game at 55 with 9:43 left on the clock. WT regained momentum with a 10-2 run where Gibson and Robinson drained back-to-back threes for the 65-57 lead. With 3:33 remaining, James Parlow Jr. brought the lead back up to double-digits with an and-one layup. Central Oklahoma got as close as nine points the rest of the way as West Texas A&M came out victorious with an 81-70 victory.
 
Top Buffs

• Joel Robinson tallied a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Robinson shot 6/9 from the field and went 2/4 from three while adding two steals.
• Max George scored an efficient 16 points on 6/8 shooting. George drained four threes and added a steal and assist.
• Logan Gibson notched 12 points on 5/8 shooting while making both of his threes. Gibson added two boards, an assist, and a block.

 
Buffs Come Up Clutch to Knock Off No. 17 Grand Valley State 71-70- November 1, 2026
The first five minutes of the game bounced back-and-forth as the teams found their grove of the game. WT held a 9-7 lead after a triple by Jailyn Sledge as he scored five of the first nine points. The tight play continued as West Texas A&M would lead 16-15. The Buffs started to pull away with a 9-0 run after two buckets by Joel Robinson and a cashed three by Zach Brown as they now led by double-digits. Grand Valley State chipped away at that lead as they cut the lead down to four as WT called a timeout. The Lakers drained a three to get within one-point, but Ben Walton responded with a three of his own to stop the bleeding. West Texas A&M stayed composed from the GVSU run and rebuilt their lead as Brown splashed his second three to set the score at 39-31 with 2:25 left in the half. WT held firm on that lead as they took a 41-35 advantage into halftime.
 
The start of the second half saw the Buffs look to hold off the 17th ranked Lakers but they would bury a three to give them a 49-48 lead. The teams stayed interlocked over the next five minutes before GVSU looked to pull away with an 11-4 run as they led 64-55 with under six minutes to play. The Buffaloes continued to fight with a 6-0 run as they did not go away quietly. The teams traded layups before Robinson cashed a three with 2:35 remaining to cut the deficit down to two. Grand Valley State finished a layup on their ensuing possession, but WT got one right back after keeping the possession alive with multiple offensive rebounds from great effort. Robinson scored with 1:40 remaining as the score was set at 70-68. West Texas A&M got the needed stop on the next possession as they secured a board but turned the ball over with 40 seconds to go. Right back on the defensive end, the Buffaloes again kept the Lakers off the scoreboard as they drew an offensive foul with 20 seconds remaining. Down two with the ball, West Texas A&M opted for the win and would be rewarded as Logan Gibson splashed a three with eight seconds remaining off an assist by James Parlow Jr. The Lakers called timeout as they played for the win but had a jumper in the paint rejected by Parlow Jr. who came away with the clutch block. Grand Valley State still had possession off the team offensive rebound and called another timeout with less than one second remaining. The defense locked down one more time as they forced a turnover as time expired. West Texas A&M would knock off No. 17 Grand Valley State 71-70 as they moved to 3-0 on the season.
 
Top Buffs

• Logan Gibson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. He added three assists and a block and steal while shooting 4/5 from the field and 6/9 from the free throw line.
• Joel Robinson scored an efficient 17 points on 6/10 shooting to go with four rebounds. Robinson also drained two of his four three-pointers.
• James Parlow Jr. recorded eight points, three assists, and three stocks (two steals and one block).

Balling Buffaloes
Following the D2CCA Midwest Tip-Off Classic, Logan Gibson, Joel Robinson, and James Parlow Jr. were all named to the All-Tournament Team while Gibson was named Tournament MVP.
 
Over the three games, Gibson averaged 11.7 points and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 75% from the field and floor. He added 1.7 stocks and 1.3 assists while coming away with the game-winning three against No. 17 Grand Valley State on Sunday in his double-double performance.
 
Robinson tallied 11 points and 5.3 rebounds on an efficient 54.5% from the field and 40% from three. Against Central Oklahoma on Saturday, Robinson had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Parlow Jr. shot 41.4% from the field as he scored 11 points per game. He also produced 2.0 rebounds, assists, and stocks over the three games. In the opening game against RV Lincoln Memorial, Parlow Jr. scored 17 points on 8/13 shooting.
 
Hammer Time
With four steals and two blocks over the weekend, Jailyn Sledge continues to climb the WT leaderboard in blocks and steals. He passed Matt Midson (1999-2003) for 15th in steals as he is up to 99. He is three steals away from passing Ron King (1995-97) for 14th. With blocks, Sledge is now tied with Carl White (2014-15, 2016-17) for 10th with 63 career swats. The Amarillo, Texas native is five blocks away from passing Andre Hill (2006-08), Antjuan Ball (2013-15), Goliath Yeggins (1980-84), Donald Sims (2011-13), and Patrick Culver (2005-06) for sole possession of fifth place. Sledge is on pace to crack into the top five in both categories this season.
 
LSC Preseason Poll
The Buffaloes come into this season projected to finish seventh in the Lone Star Conference (LSC) Preseason Poll.
 
2026-27 Preseason Poll

1. DBU (841 points, 35 first place votes)
2. Eastern New Mexico (751 points, six first place votes)
3. Lubbock Christian (735 points, two first place votes)
4. St. Edward's (670 points, one first place vote)
5. Western New Mexico (657 points, four first place votes)
6. St. Mary's (615 points)
7. West Texas A&M (596 points, one first place vote)
8. Angelo State (499 points, one first place vote)
9. Texas A&M-Kingsville (439 points)
10. UT Tyler (399 points, one first place vote)
11. Oklahoma Christian (333 points)
12. UT Dallas (316 points)
13. UT Permian Basin (294 points)
14. Midwestern State (260 points)
15. Texas A&M International (200 points)
16. Cameron (125 points)
17. Sul Ross State (73 points)

 
The 2025-26 season saw West Texas A&M produce a 20-11 record with a 12-8 mark in the LSC as they finished seventh in the standings. WT reached the LSC Tournament where their season would end with an 84-73 loss to No. 11 Eastern New Mexico.
 
Head Coach Tom Brown enters his 13th with the Buffaloes ahead of the 2026-27 season. Brown has guided WT to the NCAA Tournament in nine of the past 10 seasons while making the LSC Tournament every season. He reached the 300-win milestone at West Texas A&M last season after defeating Cameron and became the fastest coach in program history to do so.
 
Junior guard Jailyn Sledge was named the Player to Watch for the Buffaloes. After making the LSC All-Freshman Team in 2025, Sledge produced another solid season in the Maroon & White last season. He averaged 7.8 points and team-highs of 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 stocks. The Amarillo, Texas product shot 47.5% from the field to go with two double-doubles.
 
Four other Buffs return from the 2025-26 squad including junior TJ Brown, senior James Parlow Jr., sophomore Zach Brown, and senior Kemper Jones. TJ made his knack on the defensive end as he appeared in 29 games. Parlow Jr. played in 26 games and averaged 10.0 points while shooting 50.3% from the field to go with 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.4 steals. Zach led the team in three-pointers made with 66 on a 40.0% clip. He scored 9.6 points per game as he would be named to the LSC All-Freshman Team. Jones appeared in 26 games as he averaged 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds.
 
2026-27 will feature nine new players for West Texas A&M with three transfers and six freshman. For the transfers, local Amarillo product KJ Thomas returns home after spending the previous two seasons at Texas El Paso. Thomas made 24 starts this past year with the Miners and averaged 5.8 points, 3.0 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. The two other transfers are junior Max George and sophomore Ryder Cheesman who come from Baylor and Missouri State.
 
The six freshmen for the Buffs include Kaden Hooker, Sean Jimmy-Ducksworth, Joel Robinson, Ben Walton, Austin Prosser, and Logan Gibson.
 
Series History
Monday's game against Oklahoma Panhandle State will be the 69th meeting between the Buffaloes and Aggies with WT leading the series 62-6. West Texas A&M has won 12 straight games in the series including their 111-67 win in 2024.
 
Scouting Oklahoma Panhandle State
The Oklahoma Panhandle State University Aggies come into this game holding a 1-3 record with their lone win coming against Southwest (53-46). They have lost to Our Lady of the Lake (104-82), Northern New Mexico (70-65), and Bethel (75-69). OPSU is coming off a 2025-26 campaign where they went 6-21 with a 4-18 mark in the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC). They did not reach the postseason. The Aggies came into this season projected to finish 10th in the SAC Preseason Poll.
 
Through four games, Xavier Sulaiman leads the Aggies with 16.0 points per game while shooting 37.8% from the field and 38.9% from three. RJ Walker is the only other Aggie in double-figures as he is averaging 14.8 points with shooting splits of 35.4% from the field and 33.3% beyond the arc.
 
Head Coach Charles Belt enters his fourth season with Oklahoma Panhandle State.
 
For all the latest on West Texas A&M Men's Basketball, stay tuned to gobuffsgo.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.