Nov. 17, 2006

Final Stats

JOPLIN, Mo. - Pittsburg State raced out to a 16-4 lead seven and half minutes into the game on Friday night, and the West Texas A&M men's basketball team, which was playing without three of its regular starters, could not climb out of the early hole, falling by a score of 73-59 in the team's season opening contest. 

WTAMU got the Pitt State lead down to six three different times in the first half, but the Gorillas went on a pair of 6-0 runs to regain their momentum. Utilizing an eight-of-16 shooting performance in the first half, PSU took a 16 point lead into the locker room.

The Gorilla defense also played big in the first half, as they forced the Buffaloes into 15 turnovers, while stealing the ball five times from WTAMU. The Buffs shot just 29 percent from the field in the first stanza, making just five-of-17 shots, while going two-of-five from 3-point range.

Pittsburg State went on a 9-2 run to open up the second half, assuming a lead of 22 in the early goings. Senior Damien Lolar reduced the Gorilla lead down to 13 with 5:47 remaining, but that was as close as it got in the second half.

Lolar led all scorers with 20 points, while shooting seven-of-15 from the field and five-of-six from the free throw line. Junior Wayne Lovings and Mike Baskerville chipped in with nine and eight points respectively.

With the loss, WTAMU opens the season 0-1, while Pittsburg State begins at 1-0. The next action for the Buffaloes will be tomorrow Nov. 18 against Missouri Southern at 7 p.m.