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Nov. 29, 2007

Box Score

CANYON, Texas - In a game that saw the lead change 14 times, the West Texas A&M men's basketball team collected its fourth consecutive victory with a 72-65 win over Lone Star Conference North opponent Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday at the First United Bank Center. Senior Tyler Cooper recorded his first double-double of the season as he tallied 19 points and 11 rebounds to help the Buffs improve to 5-2 on the season.

The teams played a tight first half as TAMU-Commerce scored 16 points in the paint and WTAMU collected six points off turnovers and benefited from eight points off the bench. Cooper led the Buffs by shooting 3-for-3 from the floor and 2-for-2 from behind the arc while also grabbing six rebounds, but Commerce's Scooby Johnson notched 12 points and five rebounds in the half as the Lions went into the intermission with a 34-32 lead.

After 11 lead changes in the first half, Commerce came out strong in the second half and held onto the lead for the first 9:14 of play. The Buffs turned on their offensive power, though, and a sequence of a Clint McFall three-pointer, a Hinz jumper in the paint, and a Cooper three-pointer gave West Texas A&M a 50-48 lead with 10:19 to play and forced a Commerce timeout.

Two good free throws by Johnson helped the Lions regain the lead, but their advantage was truncated by three consecutive scores from behind the arc by McFall. The Buffaloes closed out the game by outscoring the Lions by a 22-13 margin in the last 8:56 of play.

McFall sank 4-of-5 from the three-point line in the second half en route to his game total of 15 points. Senior Robert Lee finished with 10 points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists while junior Kyle Shields tallied eight bouts, two rebounds and two assists. Seniors Chris Hinz and Andre Hill also were solid for WTAMU as Hinz collected seven points, three rebounds and three assists and Hill notched four points and four rebounds.

The Buffaloes return to the court on Saturday as they face the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys at the FUBC, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.