Feb. 22, 2007

Box Score

STEPHENVILLE, Texas - A tremendous second half defensive performance on Wednesday by the West Texas A&M men's basketball team led to a 69-63 come from behind win over Tarleton State in Lone Star Conference South Division action.

WTAMU held tight early in the first half, but a 10-0 run by Tarleton midway through the opening period gave the Texans a 14 point advantage.

However, an improved Buff defense through the half nibbled at the TSU lead and got it down to nine at halftime. WTAMU forced the Texans into 10 turnovers and 54 percent shooting from the charity stripe, as they were 6-of-11. Leading the way for WTAMU was freshman Ben Doherty, who scored seven points in the first half.

In the second stanza, the Buffs fought back and got their first lead of the game with 7:59 left in the contest. The defense for WTAMU held the Texans to a 5-of-15 shooting performance half way through the second period, and also forced three turnovers.

Able to tie it the game up one last time, Tarleton would not get any closer, as senior Jordanas Mejeras gave WTAMU the lead for good with 6:40 left. To close the game the Buffs went on a 9-3 run to help secure the six point victory and the fourth consecutive win over Tarleton State.

Leading the way for WTAMU was senior Damien Lolar, who scored a game-high 19 points, while junior Pierre Barlow followed up with 13. Junior classmate, Andre Hill pulled down eight rebounds, which tied for a game best, while Hill followed his rebounds up with nine points and four blocked shots.

As a team, the Buffs shot 50 percent for the game, going 25-of-50, while holding Tarleton to a 22-of-51 mark and forcing 15 turnovers.

WTAMU goes to 17-8 overall and 9-2 in the conference, while Tarleton falls to 18-8 and 7-4 in the LSC South. The next action for the Buffs will be Saturday against Midwestern State at 8 p.m. in the First United Bank Center.