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Feb. 27, 2007

Box Score

CANYON, Texas - Junior Andre Hill scored on an uncontested layup with less than one second remaining on the clock to lift the West Texas A&M men's basketball team to an improbable 82-80 victory over Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday at the First United Bank Center during the opening round of the 2007 Lone Star Conference Basketball Tournament.

The Buffs now advance to Friday's semifinal round where they take on Southeastern Oklahoma, who beat Texas A&M-Kingsville 88-72 in the first round. The semifinal and final rounds will be hosted by Midwestern State.

The game's opening 20 minutes was a tightly contested back and forth affair with nine lead changes, six ties and neither team leading hold a lead of more than six points. The Buffs, who shot 55.6 (15-of-27) during the period, were led by junior forward Chris Hinz, who contributed 13 of his 23 points for the game on 5-of-7 shooting during the period.

Senior forward Damien Lolar, who returned after missing WTAMU's game Saturday against Midwestern State with an injury, connected on 4-of-5 shots in the period to add eight points. The Arkansas City, Kan., native finished the contest with a game-high 28 points, including four crucial free throw shots down the stretch.

Unlike the opening period, for the majority of the second half the advantage was held by Texas A&M-Commerce. The Lions came out of the locker room from intermission and took control of the game by outscoring the Buffs 25-14 on their way to building a 12 point advantage, 63-51, at the 10:08 mark. However, from there, the Buffs started their historic comeback.

Lolar culminated the comeback, tying the game and then giving WTAMU the lead at 78-77 with only 34 seconds to play on a free throw by Lolar. On the ensuing possession, a steal by Kevin "Chip" Green led to a layup by Hill to give the Buffs the 80-77 lead. TAMUC's Leonard Bishop answered with just five seconds to play nailing a three-pointer to knot the game again, this time at 80-80.

WTAMU head coach Rick Cooper declined to call timeout and the move paid off as the Buffs stormed down the court and Green found a wide-open Hill underneath the basket for the game-winner.