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Feb. 18, 2005

Box Score

WICHITA FALLS, Texas --- Junior guard Ronnie Holmes hit a 3-pointer from deep in the left corner at the buzzer give the West Texas A&M University Buff basketball team a thrilling 74-72 overtime win over Midwestern State University in a Lone Star South Division clash Thursday night on MSU's Stockton Court at Ligon Hall.

The Buffs inbounded the ball with one second left and junior guard Jarvis Brown found Holmes who drained the shot tickling nothing but nylon and setting off WTAMU's jubilation as Holmes was mobbed by his teammates in the corner and MSU's supporters fell silent.

Holmes was a factor in forcing the extra session as he dished to senior forward Richard Higginbotham for a layup with 10 seconds left to knot the score at 65-all and WTAMU made a defensive stand as Higginbotham blocked a shot as the clock wound down.

The overtime period began with a 3-pointer from senior guard Carl Lamb from the top of the key to give WTAMU a 68-65 lead with 3:49 left, but MSU scored the next four points to take a 69-68 lead at 3:31 remaining.

After an MSU free throw, Higginbotham hit a layup with 2:30 left to play to tie the score at 70-all. A minute later, Holmes hit one-of-two free throws to put the Buffs up, 71-70.

MSU's Chad Rickett hit a layup with 22 seconds left, setting up WTAMU's drama. The Buffs passed the ball around, trying to set up the shot, losing the ball momentarily, but Higginbotham forced a tie-up, and thankfully the possession arrow was in WTAMU's favor. On the inbounds pass, Justin James had a temporary steal for MSU, knocking the ball near the out of bounds line, and as he threw the ball back into play, the ball hit the bottom of the backboard which is out of bounds, giving WTAMU the ball with one second left, setting the stage for Holmes' shot.

Holmes finished the game with 15 points, all in the second half, while Lamb finished with a game-high 21 points, including 17 in the first half. Higginbotham and senior forward Jamil Terrell tallied 13 points apiece for the Buffs, who improved to 12-12 overall, having a .500 won-loss record for the first time since Dec. 4 when WTAMU was 3-3. The Buffs also keep pace in the LSC South with a 6-3 division record, climbing into a three-way tie for second with MSU and Texas A&M University-Kingsville, who blitzed Angelo State University, 86-64, pulling away from a 42-39 halftime lead.

WTAMU heads to first-place and No. 11 Texas A&M University-Commerce on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m. TAMU-C dropped Eastern New Mexico University, 80-73, Thursday and has a 7-2 LSC South record and a 20-4 overall.

MSU falls to 6-3 in the division and 14-10 overall, losing for just the second time in the last seven games.

It was WTAMU's second win in the last five trips to Wichita Falls, as the Buffs improve to 4-7 on the road. WTAMU also sweeps the season series with MSU, after the Buffs blasted the Indians, 81-52, back on Jan. 20 at home, and now hold a 23-16 lead in the series.

James led MSU with 17 points and a whopping 20 rebounds, garnering 15 in the first half, while Rickett added 13 points.

The Indians had a 47-35 rebounding advantage, grabbing 19 offensive boards.

WTAMU shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field in the second half, as the Buffs overcame a 33-27 halftime deficit, and finished the game 26-of-66 (39.4 percent) field goal shooting, improving to 9-2 when shooting the same or better from the field than the opposition. The Buffs were 7-of-25 (28.0 percent) from behind the 3-point arc and 15-of-18 (83.3 percent) free throw shooting.

MSU was 21-of-60 (35.0 percent) from the field for the game, including 3-of-15 (20.0 percent) from 3-point land, and were 27-of-32 (84.4 percent) from the free throw line, as the Indians hit their first 16 shots from the charity stripe.

Both teams were 100 percent from the free throw line in the first half, as WTAMU was 7-of-7 and MSU was 10-of-10.

WTAMU scored 25 points off of MSU's 21 turnovers, while the Indians scored 15 points off the Buffs' 17 miscues. The WTAMU bench outscored its counterparts, 47-24, as there were eight lead changes and four ties in the ball game, most of them in the first half.

The first half started as a defensive struggle and was back-and-forth, as both teams had leads of as much as six points. The Buffs were down 13-8 at the 11:45 mark before they went on a 15-4 run to take at 23-17 lead with 4:25 left in the half, as Lamb hit consecutive 3-pointers, followed by a trey from senior forward Richard Higginbotham, as was capped by a pair of free throws from junior guard Steve Jackson after a technical on MSU's Jose Nava.

A thunderous dunk from Terrell on a putback gave WTAMU a 25-22 lead, but MSU countered with an 11-2 streak, including the last six points of the half to take a 33-27 lead into intermission.

After the Indians took a 38-29 lead in the first two and half minutes of the second half, the Buffs reeled off a 7-0 run to pull within 38-36 with 14:48 to play after a putback from Terrell.

MSU regained control with a 16-3 run to take a 54-39 lead at the 11:07 mark, following 1-of-2 free throws from Leonard Pralour, which was the Indians' first miss of the game from the charity stripe.

Down 57-44, Terrell sparked a 9-0 Buffs' run, capping it with a bucket at 5:32 to pull WTAMU within, 57-53, but Terrell fouled out 30 seconds later.

The Buffs never got any closer than two points the rest of regulation until Higginbotham's layup with 10 seconds left, which came after the WTAMU defense forced an MSU shot clock violation.

WTAMU will now head to Commerce, Texas to face 11th-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce on Saturday, Feb. 19. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m., followed by the Lady Buffs vs. TAMU-Commerce.

Fans can tune into WTAMU Basketball action on the Buffalo Sports Network on KGNC 710 AM or streamed on the internet at www.gobuffsgo.com.

On Monday, Feb. 21, the Buffs will travel across the state line to tangle with border-rival Eastern New Mexico University in an 8 p.m. Central Time (7 p.m. Mountain Time) contest.

The Lady Buffs and Buffs return home to host Texas A&M University-Kingsville on Thursday, Feb. 24. The WTAMU women conclude regular season action by hosting Texas Woman's University on Saturday, Feb. 26. The world renowned slam dunk acrobatic group "The Extreme Team" will be performing at halftime.

Contact the WTAMU Athletics Ticket Office at 806-651-4424 for ticket information.

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