Jan. 29, 2007

Box Score

PORTALES, N.M. - The West Texas A&M men's basketball team, led by senior Damien Lolar's 32 points, shot a blistering 60 percent from the field as a team to capture a important road victory on Monday night, defeating Lone Star Conference South Division foe Eastern New Mexico, 87-72, in front of 1,024 fans at Greyhound Arena.

Sparked by junior forward Chris Hinz, the Buffs jumped out of the gate with an 8-2 run to start the game and did not looked back as they held the lead for the entirety of the contest. Hinz, who finished the game with a career-high 24 points on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting night from the floor, contributed 12 points during the game's opening stanza. The Buffs were able to maintain the momentum gained by the hot start, building a lead as large as 13 points and cruising into halftime with a 34-26 advantage.

During the second half, Lolar took the game over, converting 10-of-12 field goals attempts for 22 points during the period to give him a game-high 32. Junior Tyler Cooper was also impressive on the evening, tallying his first double-double of the season with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

For the game, West Texas A&M outrebounded the Greyhounds, 35-34, helping the Buffs improve their overall record this season to 11-8 and their LSC mark to 3-2. Eastern New Mexico, meanwhile, falls to 9-10 on the year and 3-2 in league play.

West Texas A&M men's basketball will conclude its three-game road trip this Thursday as it travels south to battle Texas A&M-Kingsville in an 8 p.m. match up. The next home contest for the Buffs will take place on Feb. 5 when they attempt to sweep both regular season meetings from border rival Eastern New Mexico. Tip-off for for the ENMU game is slated for 7 p.m. from WTAMU's First United Bank Center.