Chav (CS
65
Colorado School of Mines CSM 22-9
79
Winner West Texas A&M WT 29-3
Colorado School of Mines CSM
22-9
65
Final
79
West Texas A&M WT
29-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Colorado School of Mines CSM 31 34 65
West Texas A&M WT 37 42 79

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Texas A&M-Commerce

3/11/2018 | 7:30 p.m.

98.7 Lone Star FM

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Mar. 11 (Sun) / 7:30 p.m.
 Texas A&M-Commerce

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Chavlovich Breaks LSC Career Scoring Record in Buffs’ NCAA First Round Victory

NCAA Tournament Central

THE BASICS:
 
  • Score: No. 11 West Texas A&M 79, Colorado School of Mines 65
 
  • Records: No.1-seed West Texas A&M 29-3, Colorado School of Mines 22-9
 
  • Location: Canyon, Texas (First United Bank Center)
 
  • The Lead: Behind a record-breaking 27 points from senior David Chavlovich and five players in double figures, the top-seeded West Texas A&M men's basketball team posted a 79-65 victory over No. 8-seed Colorado School of Mines Saturday evening in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
  • The Buffs, hosting the NCAA regional for the first time since 1997-98 and the third time in program history, witnessed league-history Saturday as Chavlovich broke the career Lone Star Conference scoring record with a triple with six minutes and change left in the first half.
  • He entered the game needing nine points to break Nate Granger's (Texas A&M-Commerce/East Texas State) record of 2,380 points set from 1973-77.Chavlovich finished the game with 2,399 career points.
  • WT started a bit sluggish in the game as Colorado Mines, the reigning South Central Region champion from last season, built a five-point advantage with a jumper from Ben Sonnefeld for a 7-2 start with 15:45 left in the half.
  • The Buffs tied the game at ten, on a layup from senior Jordan Evans with 12:28 left, and triple from junior Gach Gach gave WT its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 11:57 remaining in the half.
  • The Orediggers quickly regained the lead and layup from Luke Schroepfer gave CSM a 16-13 lead with 9:09 left.
  • LSC Freshman of the Year, Gaige Prim, an Aurora, Colo., native, grabbed a huge offensive rebound and put back cutting the deficit to one and two free throws from Chavlovich, with 7:46 left put WT up 17-16 and a lead it would never relinquish.
  • The record-breaking triple from CHavlovich ignited a 13-4 run capped with the "and one" from Prim for a 32-22 lead with 3:42 left in the first half.
  • Mines quickly answered once again as it cut the deficit back to four with a pair of charity tosses from Adam Laine at 34-30 with 1:43 left.
  • Another triple from Chavlovich swelled the lead back to seven as the Buffs settled for a 37-31 lead at the break.
  • Mines cut the deficit to four on four occasions early in the second half, including back-to-back triples from Sonnefeld, but the Buffs, and the 1,287 predominately WT fans, answered each run as Evans buried a triple – his first of the game giving WT a 48-41 lead with 15:38 left.
  • Prim scored inside and sophomore Jordan Collins hit a jumper for a 7-0 run and the first double-digit lead of the game at 52-41 with 13:53 left.
  • The Orediggers kept within striking distance with two more Sonnefeld treys and cut the deficit to nine on five occasions with the last being on a pair of tosses from Mason Baker for a 64-55 WT lead with 7:27 left.
  • From there, the Buffs turned it on with another mini-run as Evans hit his third trifecta of the game for a 69-55 lead with 6:31 left.
  • Mines cut the deficit back to 12, but the Buffs used an 8-0 run, capped with a triple from freshman CJ Jennings for a 79-59 lead with 2:33 left.
  • The Orediggers scored the final six points of the game for a 79-55 final margin.
 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
  • For the half, Chavlovich and Laine each had 16 points as the lone players in double figures.
  • WT was 13 of 32 from the field (.406), while going 3 of 14 from beyond the arc and 8 of 10 from the line.
  • Mines, who entered the game as the nation's leader in 3-point field goal shooting at a .439 clip, were 0 for 6 from range, while going 12 of 28 from the field (.429) and 7 of 10 from the line.
  • The Orediggers held a 24-13 lead in rebounding, but committed nine turnovers to just two for WT as the Buffs held a 9-1 lead in points off turnovers.
  • For the game, the Buffs shot 28 of 62 from the field (.452) and an even 50 percent in the second half on 15 of 39, while going 11 of 27 from range for the game and 12 of 16 from the line.
  • Chavlovich had 27 points on 8 of 16 from the field with five triples and a perfect 6 of 6 from the line, leading five Buffs in double figures.
  • Evans and Prim each had 11 points, while Gach and Fort Collins, Colo., native, junior Ryan Quaid, each had ten.
  • Mines had a double-double from Laine with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but he was held to just four points in the second half.Sonnefeld had 13, and Schoepfer, who had a career-high 23 points last year in the regional final victory against WT, was held to 10 points and Michael Glen chipped in 11.
  • The Orediggers shot 42.6 percent for the game on 23 of 54, while going just 6 of 19 from beyond the arc (.316) and 13 of 16 from the line.
  • CSM held a 39-29 lead in rebounding, but committed 13 turnovers in the game as it entered ninth nationally in fewest turnovers with just 288 miscues on the year.
  • The Buffs committed a season-low three turnovers – one in the second half, and led 15-3 in points off turnovers.
  • WT improved to 29-3 on the year matching the school-record for wins in a season set in 1940-41 (29-6).
 
 
 
UP NEXT:
 
  • The Buffs will face a familiar foe in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the First United Bank Center against No. 5-seed Texas A&M-Commerce for the fourth time this season.
  • The winner of Sunday's game will advance to the regional final Tuesday at 7 p.m. against either No. 2-seed UT Permian Basin or No. 3-seed Regis (Colo.).
  • WT and TAMUC also met last season in the NCAA Tournament first round as WT won 97-86 in Golden, Colo.
  • Check www.gobuffsgo.com on the men's basketball schedule page for links to live stats and audio/video streaming of the game.
  • Kent Johnson and Lucas Kinsey will have play-by-play coverage as it will be broadcast on 98.7 Lonestar FM throughout the Texas Panhandle.
 
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
  • For the latest on WT Athletics, follow the Buffs/Lady Buffs via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.  Also check back with www.gobuffsgo.com for the latest information on news, statistics, tickets and more on all of West Texas A&M athletics.
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Players Mentioned

David Chavlovich

#1 David Chavlovich

G
5' 11"
Senior
Jordan Collins

#5 Jordan Collins

G
6' 0"
Sophomore
Jordan Evans

#3 Jordan Evans

G
6' 5"
Senior
Ryan Quaid

#22 Ryan Quaid

G
6' 7"
Junior
CJ Jennings

#2 CJ Jennings

G
6' 1"
Freshman
Gach Gach

#10 Gach Gach

G
6' 4"
Junior
Gaige Prim

#24 Gaige Prim

G
6' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

David Chavlovich

#1 David Chavlovich

5' 11"
Senior
G
Jordan Collins

#5 Jordan Collins

6' 0"
Sophomore
G
Jordan Evans

#3 Jordan Evans

6' 5"
Senior
G
Ryan Quaid

#22 Ryan Quaid

6' 7"
Junior
G
CJ Jennings

#2 CJ Jennings

6' 1"
Freshman
G
Gach Gach

#10 Gach Gach

6' 4"
Junior
G
Gaige Prim

#24 Gaige Prim

6' 7"
Freshman
G