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Buffs Handle Colorado State-Pueblo, 71-59

WTAMU strong down the stretch to seal victory

Kyle Shields led the Buffs with 13 points and five assists.

Kyle Shields led the Buffs with 13 points and five assists.

Nov. 28, 2008

Box Score

Canyon, Texas - The West Texas A&M Buffaloes defeated Colorado State-Pueblo, 71-59, in first-round action of the Holiday Inn Thanksgiving Classic, Friday night, before 1,365 at the First United Bank Center.

The win improves WTAMU to 3-1 on the year, while CSU-P falls to 1-3.

Both teams were hot from the floor in the first half, with the Buffs shooting 55 percent and the ThunderWolves making 50 percent of their field goal efforts. Key to the Buffs' 38-22 halftime advantage was their forcing 13 CSU-Pueblo turnovers, while also nailing six three-point attempts. The Buffs also limited CSU-P to just 18 field goal attempts.

The Buffs held the lead throughout the second half, although CSU-P cut the lead to as few as nine points with just over eight minutes remaining. But the Buffs hit their final five shots from the field to ice the victory.

For the game, WT shot 56.8 percent from the floor, while CSU-Pueblo made 53.7 percent of their efforts. Both teams committed 21 turnovers with the Buffs also knocking down 9-of-18 three point efforts.

The Buffs saw four players reach double-figure scoring, with Kyle Shields tallying 13 (11 of which came in the second half). Justin Johnson and Nick Burns contributed 11 apiece, while Nike Styliano totaled 10 points, all in the first half.

The ThunderWolves were led by Marc Williams, who scored a game-high 15 points while Roman Van Allen hit 13 points on five-of-eight shooting.

"This was a good win for us," said WT head coach Rick Cooper. "But, we still have a long way to go, as a team. We had some self-inflicted wounds in the second half. But some of the credit has to go to CSU-Pueblo; they turned the heat up on us in the second half.


 

 

"We are still a work-in-progress," Cooper continued. "We missed a lot of free throws tonight, and that is a sign of a team that is unsure of itself. But, we are playing hard, the effort is there and that's a good start."

The Buffs will now face South Dakota (3-3) in the Championship game of the Holiday Inn-WT Thanksgiving Classic, Saturday evening at 8 p.m. CST. The Coyotes took a 66-50 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State earlier Friday afternoon.