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Nov. 20, 2007

Box Score

PLAINVIEW, Texas - Wayland Baptist shot a blistering 62.5 percent from the floor during the second half and enjoyed an 18-2 run during the period to lift the Pioneers to a 86-72 victory over the West Texas A&M men's basketball team at Hutcherson Center in Plainview, Texas on Tuesday evening.

The first half of the contest was a tightly contested stanza that featured eight lead changes and ended with the Buffs holding a slim two-point advantage at 41-39. WT was boosted in the period by the strong play of its bench which outscored the Pioneers by a 20-12 count, including eight points from senior Andre Hill, who connected on all four of his field goal attempts in the period, and junior Keon Grant, who chipped in seven points.

Following the intermission, the Buffs came out hot from the locker room and a jumper by Chris Hinz at the 17:35 mark gave WT a six-point advantage, its biggest of the night, at 47-41. WBU was able to survive the surge by the visitors to keep the game close as the lead shifted back and forth between the teams until a tip in by WT's Robert Lee gave the Buffs a 64-63 advantage at the 9:19 mark. Unfortunately for the Buffs, the basket would be their only field goal for the next seven minutes of the game as the Pioneers used an 18-2 run to take complete control of the game at 81-66. A lay-up by Lee at the 2:17 mark ended the drought for the Buffs, but the Pioneers' lead was too much to overcome down the stretch. The loss is the second straight for the Buffs after opening the season with a win over Colorado-Colorado Springs and drops their season record to 1-2.

During the fateful second half, the Buffs connected on only 11-of-36 shot attempts for a 30.6 shooting percentage, while their home counterparts from Wayland Baptist torched the nets on 15 of their 24 shots in the period.

Lee again was the leader for the Buffs in the scoring department as he highlighted a group of five Buffs in double figure scoring with 14 points on the night. In three games this season, the Fort Worth, Texas, native has piled up 42 points for WT to lead the team in scoring per game at 14.0.

The Buffs return to action this weekend as they open their home season with the Coca-Cola/Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Shootout at the First United Bank Center. The WT men will face off against Western State on Friday at 8 p.m. following the Lady Buffs' home opener against New Mexico Highlands, which is slated to begin at 6 p.m.