March 11, 2006

Box Score

BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The West Texas A&M University men's basketball team lost to Northwest Missouri State University, 66-51, Saturday night in the NCAA-II South Central Regional Quarterfinal at Bolivar, Mo., hosted by Southwest Baptist University.

WTAMU ends its season with a 23-8 after making their first Regional appearance since 2002-03.

The Buffs are now 2-1 all-time vs. the Bearcats, as Saturday's meeting was the first since 1998.

Sophomore forward Tyler Cooper led WTAMU with 12 points, while junior guard Damien Lolar added 11 points, for the Buffs, who shot just 21-of-52 (41.2 percent) from the field, including just 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range. It was the lowest percentage from behind the arc since shooting 21.4 percent in a 64-50 loss to Northeastern State, the Buffs' lowest point total of the year, with Saturday's being the next lowest.

The Buffs opened with a 5-0 lead, but the Bearcats went on a 10-0 run to take a 10-5 lead. After WTAMU took a 17-16 lead at the 6:08 mark on a 3-pointer by Cooper, the Bearcats closed out the half with a 14-3 run and took a 29-20 lead into the half.

NWMSU started the 2nd half on a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 17 and WTAMU never recovered.

-WT-