| gobuffsgo.com |
|
WTAMU Men's Hoops Drops Tough Road Tilt at MSU
Jan. 27, 2007
WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Despite 27 points from Lone Star Conference leading scorer Damien Lolar and a season-high 20 points from junior Tyler Cooper, the West Texas A&M men's basketball team could not escape D.L. Ligon Coliseum with its fourth consecutive victory, falling to Midwestern State on Saturday night by the score of 90-81. The early portion of the game got off to a fast-paced start with no shortage of offensive highlights as the first half yielded 90 combined points and sent the Mustangs to the locker room with a 48-42 advantage. The Buffs had to endure a hot start by MSU during the opening period which saw the Mustangs build a lead as large as 20 points at the 9:19 mark of the half. WTAMU was able to outscore the Mustangs from that point, led primarily by Cooper who put up 17 points, converting 6-of-7 field goals attempts, including 3-of-4 from beyond the three point arc. For the half, WTAMU owned the edge in field goal percentage, at 53.6 (15-of-28) compared to MSU's 43.8 (14-of-32), but the Buffs were guilty of 14 turnovers during the opening period, giving the Mustangs an 18-7 advantage in points off turnovers. In the second half, after crawling their way back into the contest, the Buffs got a dunk by Damien Lolar at the 15:37 mark to knot the game at 53-53. The basket evened the score for the first time since the game's opening moments but unfortunately, the Buffs could not ride the momentum any further and were never able to overtake the Mustangs as the home squad responded after the dunk with a 6-0 run to retake control of the game. For Cooper, the 20 points sets a season-high for the junior from Amarillo, breaking the previous mark of 19 which he set against Wayland Baptist back on Dec. 16. MSU's Chad Rickett led all scorers with a season-high 30 points on the night, finishing 8-of-15 from the field, but also connecting on 11-of-13 shots from the free throw line.
The setback drops WTAMU's overall record 10-8 on the year and its LSC South mark to 2-2, while, MSU improves to 13-4 and 2-1 in league play. West Texas A&M men's basketball is back on the road on Monday as they travel to Portales, N.M., to square off against Eastern New Mexico in a 8 p.m. (CST) contest. After facing Texas A&M-Kingsville in South Texas on Thursday, the Buffs will return to action at home on Feb. 5 against Eastern New Mexico.
|
