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Buffs Rally To Deal Cameron First Loss of Season, 82-72
Dec. 4, 2004
The West Texas A&M University men's basketball team used a boost from freshman guard Kyle Shields and senior forward Jamil Terrell and a 14-2 run to open the second half as the Buffs dealt Cameron University its first loss of the season, 82-72, Thursday night in a Lone Star Conference game at the WTAMU Event Center.
Shields netted his first points of the season and finished with 11 points (nine in the second half) and five assists, while Terrell posted his fourth double-double in five games with 18 points and 17 rebounds. Senior guard Carl Lamb and classmate forward Richard Higginbotham added 12 points apiece for WTAMU, which evened its record at 3-3.
Cameron, which was playing its sixth game away from home, is now 6-1 on the year. The Aggies had three players in double-figures, led by Eric Moore's 24 points off the bench, including four 3-pointers, while Marcus Girtmon and Arthur Trousdell tallied 16 points each. Bam Harmon dished out a game-high 10 assists.
Both teams shot well from the floor, as the Buffs were 30-56 (53.6 percent), including 8-23 (34.8 percent) from behind the 3-point arc. WTAMU shot 14-20 (70.0 percent) from the free throw line.
Cameron was 28-60 (46.7 percent), including 8-23 (34.8 percent) from 3-point land, but didn't hit from behind the arc in the second half after going 8-15 (53.3 percent) in the first half. The Aggies were 8-12 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
The Buffs outrebounded the Aggies, 38-27, including pulling down 11 offensive end (six from Terrell), which led to 15 second-chance points, while CU had eight offensive boards leading to only four second-chance points.
Turnovers had been WTAMU's demise in their previous games, but the Buffs took better care of the ball Saturday as they only had a season-low 13 turnovers, only the second time with under 20 blunders.
Cameron opened the game with a 25-10 lead at the 11:37 mark, after consecutive treys from Harmon and Moore. WTAMU couldn't cut the gap under seven points and CU had a 42-34 halftime lead.
The Buffs charged out of intermission, as senior guard Govinda Thomas-Carter drained a 3-pointer just nine seconds into the half. Shields, who started the second half in place of Lamb who had three first half fouls, later had a fast break layup to pull WTAMU within 42-39. After a Trousdell jumper gave the Aggies a 44-39 lead, junior guard Jarvis Brown drilled a trey from the left wing to make it 44-42 with just 1:12 gone off the second half clock.
Another layup from Shields knotted the score at 44-all and forced a CU timeout at the 18:16 mark.
Consecutive layups from Terrell capped the 14-2 run and gave the Buffs a 48-44 lead with 16:59 to play.
After the Aggies climbed back to take a 52-48 lead at 14:09 on a layup from Moore, the Buffs went on a 13-2 run, capped by one of two free throws at 9:48 from Shields to give WTAMU a 61-54 lead.
The Buffs held the Aggies at bay from there on out, as Brown gave WTAMU its largest lead at 82-71 with a pair of charity stripe shots with 40 seconds to play. Harmon hit one of two free throws with 27 ticks on the clock for the final scoring.
WTAMU closes out its five game homestand next Saturday, Dec. 11, with a rematch against the University of Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. at the WTAMU Event Center. The Buffs dropped a 76-70 overtime decision to the Bears in their season-opener back on Nov. 19. UCA, ranked No. 24 in the ABCA Poll, will bring a 6-0 record into the contest after defeating Arkansas Baptist College, 79-69, Thursday.
Call the WTAMU Athletics Ticket Office at (806) 651-4424 for more information, or visit the official WTAMU Athletics web site at www.gobuffsgo.com.
Fans can also tune into the Buffalo Sports Network broadcast of the game, on KGNC 710 AM or streamed on the Internet on www.gobuffsgo.com.
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