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Feb. 18, 2006

Box Score

SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Behind sophomore forward Tyler Cooper's career-high 22 points, including 20 in the second half, the West Texas A&M University men's basketball team rallied from 19 points down to beat Angelo State University, 81-77, Saturday night at San Angelo, Texas. The win improved WTAMU to 19-6 overall and 8-2 in Lone Star Conference South Division action, as the Buffs have now beaten the Rams seven of the last eight meetings and now hold a 28-15 all-time series lead.

ASU, which was under interim head coach John Greene for the third game, lost its ninth-straight game and have now lost 15 of the last 16 games, falling to 0-11 in LSC South action and 8-18 overall.

Senior forward Patrick Culver just missed his sixth double-double of the season with a career-high 14 rebounds to go with nine points, along with four blocks.

Junior guard Damien Lolar tossed in 14 points, while senior guard Ronnie Holmes added 12 points to go with four assists and four steals.

ASU had four players in double-figures, led by 21 points by JR Pittman, while Ontario McKee tallied 20 points. Rashawn Childs added 11 points and Quinn Barfield tossed in 10 points.

WTAMU shot 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from the field in the second half, to finish 22-of-56 (39.3 percent) for the game, including 7-of-22 (31.8 percent) from 3-point range. At the free throw line, the Buffs hit 30-of-42 (71.4 percent).

ASU was a smoldering 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) in the first half, but hit just 10-of-38 (26.3 percent) after halftime, finishing the night 26-of-64 (40.6 percent) field goal shooting, including 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) behind the arc. The Rams hit 69.2 percent (18-of-26) at the charity stripe.

After WTAMU took a 12-11 lead, ASU went on a 24-4 run to open up a 19-point advantage at 35-16 with 4:16 to go on a layup by Brian Young. The Buffs battled back to close the gap to 43-30 at the half, as junior guard Jordanas Mejeras hit a 3-pointer with six seconds remaining before the break.

WTAMU chipped away at the deficit, cutting the margin to 55-51 at the 8:42 mark on a Cooper trey, and then later tied it at 58-all on a pair of free throws by Cooper with 6:26 on the clock.

The Buffs took the lead for the first time in the second half at the 4:09 mark on a conventional three-point play by Culver.

After ASU closed to 65-63 with 2:56 to play on two free throws by Pittman, Lolar later hit a layup to stretch the lead back to 72-64 with 1:46 left and the Buffs' held off the Rams' frantic rally by hitting 9-of-12 from the free throw line in the final minute.

Free throws came up big for WTAMU down the stretch, as the Buffs were 21-of-24 (87.5 percent) in the final 7:08 of the ballgame.

WTAMU will continue on the road Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Wichita Falls, Texas against Midwestern State University.

The Buffs will then host Tarleton State University, the first-place team in the LSC South, in a division showdown on Saturday, Feb. 25 at the First United Bank Center.

The men's clash will tip-off at approximately 8 p.m., following the WTAMU-TSU women's contest, which pits the first-place Lady Buffs against the second-place TexAnns.

For ticket information, contact the WTAMU Athletics Ticket Office at 806-651-4424.

-WT-