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Buffs Conclude Regular Season On Road At ACU And ASU
Feb. 24, 2004
The West Texas A&M University men's basketball team concludes the regular season on the road this weekend for a couple of Lone Star South division games, that will determine the Buffs' seeding in the LSC Tournament, and where WTAMU will travel to on Mar. 2 for the first-round of action.
The Buffs clinched a spot in the tournament due the outcome of WTAMU's weekend opponents Monday night as Angelo State University knocked off Abilene Christian University, 93-87, at San Angelo, Texas.
The Buffs open the weekend on Thursday, Feb. 27, traveling to Abilene, Texas to take on Abilene Christian in an 8 p.m. contest at ACU's Moody Coliseum.
WTAMU continues action on the road, traveling to San Angelo, to meet Angelo State in the regular season-finale on Saturday, Feb. 29. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at ASU's Junell Center.
The Buffs are currently in third-place in the LSC South, while ACU is in sixth-place and ASU is last. WTAMU can finish no worse than 6-6 in LSC South action, ahead of Texas A&M University-Commerce and Abilene Christian, who both can finish no better than 5-7.
The Buffs are battling with Midwestern State University for the third-place spot, as neither team can move up to second, as Texas A&M University-Kingsville and Eastern New Mexico University have secured the top two spots. WTAMU and MSU will open the tournament at Tarleton State University and Northeastern State University, the top two teams, respectively, in the LSC North with exact finish to be determined this weekend.
Fans can tune into the Buffalo Sports Network, on KGNC 710 AM or streamed on the Internet at www.gobuffsgo.com.
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
About The Teams
The Buffs take a 16-9 overall and a 6-4 LSC South mark on the road trip, with a three-game win streak in tow.
WTAMU wrapped up its home portion of the regular season with a pair of wins over the weekend, dropping Texas A&M-Commerce, 77-63, on Thursday, and holding on to upset previous LSC South leader Texas A&M-Kingsville, 79-76, on Saturday.
In Thursday's game, the Buffs battled back and forth with TAMU-Commerce, before senior guard Eduardo Caviglia drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer before halftime and WTAMU pulled away in the second half, as the Buffs swept the season series with TAMU-C and have won 13 of the last 14 meetings.
On Saturday, WTAMU held on from a 18-point halftime lead only to have TAMU-Kingsville whittle the lead away and had a chance to force overtime, but a 3-point attempt was off the mark at the buzzer.
This will be the second meeting of the year between WTAMU and these two teams, as the Buffs pulled away from Angelo State, 94-79, on Jan. 29, and WTAMU won its ninth-straight all-time vs. Abilene Christian with a 76-61 victory on Jan. 31. Both games were at home for the Buffs, and part of their 10 wins in 12-game stretch.
Abilene Christian is 12-13 overall, 3-7 in LSC South action, after Monday's 93-87 loss at Angelo State. The Wildcats have lost seven of their last nine contests. In Monday's game, ACU was without the services of 6-5 senior forward Tucker Pierson, the team and conference leading rebounder and ACU's second-leader scorer, who was too sick to travel with the team. David Baxter, a 6-3 junior guard, came off the bench to score a game-high 37 points, draining five 3-pointers.
Angelo State is 12-13 overall and 2-8 in the LSC South, after Monday's 93-87 win at home over Abilene Christian. The Rams took the lead for good with 17 seconds left in the first half and opened a lead as big as 13 points and hung on for the win to snap a three-game losing streak. ASU had five players in double-figures, led by 6-3 junior guard Kenny Smith's 23 points off the bench. The Rams take on LSC South leader Eastern New Mexico on Thursday.
The Coaches
WTAMU head coach Rick Cooper (Wayland Baptist, 1981), who is in his 10th year at the helm of the Buffs, is WTAMU's all-time winningest head coach. Cooper became WTAMU's all-time winningest coach with the Buffs' win at Southwestern Oklahoma on Jan. 8 for win No. 207, passing Sam Burton's 206 wins from 1921-1933. With a 215-99 (.685) record, Cooper currently is fourth on WTAMU's Best Winning Percentage list.
Cooper is a three-time LSC Coach of the Year (1993-'94, 1997-'98, 1998-'99), as well as NABC South Central Regional Coach of the Year (1997-'98).
The Buffs have won three LSC titles under Cooper and been to the NCAA Regional Tournament five times, including three in the last four years.
Abilene Christian head coach Klint Pleasant (David Lipscomb, 1998), is in his third year leading the Wildcats' program. Pleasant, who played football at ACU before transferring to David Lipscomb, has a 25-27 (.481) overall record as a collegiate head coach. He came to ACU after a tenure as an assistant at Division I Kent State, where he helped lead the Golden Flashes set a Mid-American Conference record for single-season victories, with 30, and a trip to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
Angelo State head coach Joe Esposito (Marist, 1988) is in his sixth year leading the Rams. Esposito has a 99-66 (.600) overall record both at ASU and in his career, going for milestone win No. 100 this weekend, as ASU opens with Eastern New Mexico on Thursday. Esposito led the Rams to the LSC South championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2001-02, and being named the LSC South Coach of the Year. Esposito barely led the Rams to a winning record for five-straight years, with 14-13 ledgers both in his first season, 1998-99 and again last year.
About WTAMU
The Buffs take a 16-9 overall and a 6-4 LSC South mark on the road trip, with a three-game win streak in tow.
WTAMU wrapped up its home portion of the regular season with a pair of wins over the weekend, dropping Texas A&M-Commerce, 77-63, on Thursday, and holding on to upset previous LSC South leader Texas A&M-Kingsville, 79-76, on Saturday.
In Thursday's game, the Buffs battled back and forth with TAMU-Commerce, before 6-4 senior guard Eduardo Caviglia drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer before halftime and WTAMU pulled away in the second half, as the Buffs swept the season series with TAMU-C and have won 13 of the last 14 meetings. Caviglia snapped out of a month-long scoring drought, tieing a game-high by netting 20 points Thursday, including 4-8 from 3-point range.
On Saturday, WTAMU held on from a 18-point halftime lead only to have TAMU-Kingsville whittle the lead away and had a chance to force overtime, but a 3-point attempt was off the mark at the buzzer. The Buffs' three seniors came up big on Senior Night, as the trio of Caviglia, 6-4 senior forward Jason Campbell and 6-1 senior guard Rod Prater combined for 61 points.
As a team, WTAMU ranks second in the conference in both 3-point FG pct. (.392) and 3-point FG made (195, 7.80 pg), as well as third in field goal pct. (.479).
The Buffs rank 30th in the NCAA-II statistics in 3-point FG pct., as well as 30th in field goal pct.
WTAMU also leads the conference in blocked shots (100, 4.0 bpg) and third in free throw pct. (.714).
Taking care of the ball is an attribute for victory for WTAMU, who is 10-1 when committing fewer turnovers than the opposition, but is 6-8 when committing the same or more turnovers. The Buffs are second-to-last in the league in turnover margin (-2.68).
On the season, 6-1 senior guard Rod Prater leads the Buffs with a 20.1 points per game average, which ranks second in the LSC and 31st in the nation in scoring. He also is seventh in the conference in 3-point FG made (59, 2.57 pg), as well as sixth in free throw percentage (.768), eighth in both steals (1.83 spg) and assists (3.26 apg).
Eduardo Caviglia, a 6-4 senior guard, nets 10.9 ppg, averaging 21.5 ppg in the last two games. Caviglia is fifth in the conference and 36th in the country in 3-point FG pct (.437), and is tied for fifth in the league in 3-point FG made (62, 2.58 pg).
The third member of the Buffs' three-guard attack is 6-1 junior guard Carl Lamb, who is 25th in the LSC in scoring with 11.8 ppg. Lamb also ranks third in free throw percentage (.802), as well as ranking fifth in assists (3.75 apg) and ninth in 3-point FG pct. (.400).
Inside, Richard Higginbotham, a 6-7 junior forward, pulls down a team-high 6.2 rebounds per contest, which ranks 12th in the conference. Higginbotham would rank in the top five in the conference in FT pct (.792), but he doesn't meet the required minimum of 2.0 FT per game.
Carlos Silva, a 6-8 junior forward, leads the LSC and is ninth in the country in blocked shots (65, 2.60 bpg). Silva would lead the conference in field goal percentage (.645), but he also doesn't meet the minimum of 3.0 FG per game.
The third post player for WTAMU, 6-4 senior forward Jason Campbell, is 16th in the league in rebounding with 5.9 rpg and is 27th in scoring with 11.5 ppg.
WTAMU On The Road
The Buffs are 5-6 on the road this season, having won four of their last seven road contests, after losing the previous three.
WTAMU has won six in a row at Abilene, last losing in the 1996-97 season, 74-69, in the regular season-finale. Last year, the Buffs won, 79-63, on Jan. 25.
ACU is 10-4 at home this season, but are an even 2-2 in home LSC South games.
ASU is 11-4 overall on its home court this season, but is also an even 2-2 in LSC South games at home.
About ACU
Abilene Christian is 12-13 overall, 3-7 in LSC South action, after Monday's 93-87 loss at Angelo State. The Wildcats have lost seven of their last nine contests. In Monday's game, ACU was without the services of 6-5 senior forward Tucker Pierson, the team and conference leading rebounder and ACU's second-leader scorer, who was too sick to travel with the team. David Baxter, a 6-3 junior guard, came off the bench to score a game-high 37 points, draining five 3-pointers.
The Wildcats lead the LSC and rank 28th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.408). ACU also is second in the league in 3-point FG defense (.312), as well as second in rebounding offense (39.8 rpg). The Wildcats are fifth in scoring offense (75.5 ppg) and 12th in scoring defense (73.3 ppg), ranking eighth in scoring margin (+2.2 ppg).
Baxter leads the Wildcats and is 13th in the conference in scoring (14.2 ppg) and leads the league in free throw percentage (.864), as well second in 3-point FG made (56, 3.29 pg). Baxter ranks 40th in NCAA-II in 3-point FG made.
Pierson is 19th in the LSC in scoring (13.8 ppg) and leads the conference and is 32nd in the country in rebounding (9.2 rpg).
Rodney Lee, a 6-4 senior guard, is 20th in the LSC in scoring (13.3 ppg) and is tied for fifth in 3-point FG made (47, 2.76 pg).
Cliff Green, a 5-11 senior guard, leads the conference, as well as 12th in the nation in steals (2.75 spg) and leads the league and is 39th in the country in assists (5.42 apg).
WTAMU-ACU Series History
The Buffs lead the all-time series, 58-21, having won the last nine meetings, including earlier this season and both match-ups last year.
WTAMU won, 79-73, at Abilene on Jan. 25, 2003, behind three players in double-digits, led by Rod Prater's 21 points, along with six assists and three steals. Kyle Caldwell netted 18 points, while Matt Madison recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. ACU was led by Rodney Lee's 24 points, while Tucker Pierson added 18 points. The Wildcats shot a paltry 38.5 percent from the field, including 23.5 percent (4-17) from 3-point land.
The Buffs dropped the Wildcats, 79-64, on Feb. 20 at Canyon, as four WTAMU starters tallied double-figures, led by Caldwell's 15 points, along with a game-high nine rebounds. Prater added 13 points, followed by Reggie Harris and Kenny White with 10 points apiece. ACU was led by Jeff Johnson's 15 points off the bench. Pierson added 12 points and eight rebounds, followed by 10 points from Cliff Green.
WTAMU-ACU Last Meeting:
The West Texas A&M University men's basketball team used a 14-2 run in the first half to break open the game and senior guard Rod Prater netted 20 second-half points as the Buffs defeated Abilene Christian University, 76-61, in a Lone Star Conference South division contest Saturday night at the WTAMU Event Center, in front of a season-best 2,302 fans, including JJ Jumper, the official mascot of NCAA Basketball.
With the win the Buffs improve to 13-6 overall and 3-1 in LSC South, forcing a four-way tie atop the division standings entering Monday's showdown at co-leader Eastern New Mexico.
The win was also WTAMU's 10th in the last 12 games, and the Buffs' ninth-straight over the Wildcats, improving to 58-21 all-time vs. ACU.
The Wildcats' loss was their fourth in the last five games and they are now 10-9 overall and 1-3 in LSC South play.
Prater, who was just 2-8 from the field with only seven points in the first half, finished with a game-high 27 points, including 11-13 from the free throw line. Junior forward Richard Higginbotham had a career-high 16 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to finish with his second double-double of the season. Two other Buffs finished in double-figures, as junior guard Carl Lamb came off the bench to score 11 points to go with his game-high six assists, while senior forward Jason Campbell tallied 10 points.
ACU was led by Matthias Krieg's 15 points, while Tucker Pierson posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, helping the Wildcats to a 44-37 rebounding edge, including 20 offensive boards.
The Buffs shot 41.8 percent from the field (23-55), including just 5-15 (33.3 percent) from behind the 3-point arc, including just 1-8 in the second half.
However, the WTAMU defense held ACU to 36.9 shooting percentage (24-65), including 3-13 (23.1 percent) from 3-point land and also forced 22 Wildcat turnovers.
The Buffs outscored the Wildcats, 25-10 from the free throw line, improving to 13-2 when shooting more free throws than the opposition, as WTAMU made more than ACU even attempted, shooting 25-36 from the charity stripe, while ACU was 10-21.
The Wildcats had a 14-12 lead with 11:37 remaining in the opening half after a layup from Mauro Matai. The Buffs then went on a 14-2 run over the next seven minutes, capped by a old-fashioned three-point play from Higginbotham to go up 26-16 with 4:36 until halftime.
Krieg hit a layup at the buzzer to pull ACU to within 34-26 at the half.
WTAMU opened a 47-31 lead with 13:26 left on a trey from Prater and the Buffs held a double-digit lead over the next 11 minutes of the game, as ACU cut the deficit to nine at 68-59 with 2:14 to play on a layup from Rodney Lee. However, the Wildcats could cut it to anything under nine as ACU didn't score in the final 35 seconds after closing to 70-61. WTAMU hit 4-6 free throws down the stretch to hold the Wildcats at bay.
About ASU
Angelo State is 12-13 overall and 2-8 in the LSC South, after Monday's 93-87 win at home over Abilene Christian. The Rams took the lead for good with 17 seconds left in the first half and opened a lead as big as 13 points and hung on for the win to snap a three-game losing streak. ASU had five players in double-figures, led by 6-3 junior guard Kenny Smith's 23 points off the bench. The Rams take on LSC South leader Eastern New Mexico on Thursday.
As a team, ASU leads the LSC and is 24th in the country in 3-point FG made (206, 8.58 pg). The Rams are third in the league in both scoring offense (76.6 ppg) and rebounding margin (+2.7), as well as blocked shots (3.46 bpg).
Smith leads ASU and is 17th in the league in scoring (13.9 ppg), but that is the only category that he ranks in the conference. Heath Bailey, a 6-11 senior forward, is 15th in the conference in rebounding (6.0 rpg) and ranks eighth in blocked shots (23, 1.00 bpg). Justin Jefferson, a 6-9 junior forward is fifth in league in blocked shots (32, 1.45 bpg).
Buffs-Rams Series History
WTAMU leads the all-time series, 24-14, currently on a three-game win streak in the series, after winning the first meeting this season, 94-79, and both match-ups last year.
In last year's first meeting of the season, on Jan. 23, 2003, at San Angelo, Texas, the Buffs claimed an 80-72 victory behind 20 points apiece from Rod Prater and Kyle Caldwell, as Caldwell logged a double-double by pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. The Rams were led by Nate Gordon's game-high 27 points, while Germaine Chase added 17 points.
On Feb. 22, 2003, at Canyon, the Buffs limited the Rams to 38.5 shooting from the field in claiming an 84-73 victory on Senior Night. WTAMU had four players in double-figures, led by senior Caldwell's 20 points, while fellow senior Matt Madison had 13 points, and Eduardo Caviglia and Prater netted 12 and 11 points respectively. David Rhone dished out a career-high 13 assists. Toby Thompson led ASU with 30 points, including 6-9 from 3-point land, while Chase tallied 17 points, followed by 16 from Gordon. However, the rest of the Rams only scored a combined 10 points.
WTAMU-ASU Last Meeting:
The West Texas A&M University Buffaloes showed they were the better of the horned mascots on Jan. 29 at the WTAMU Event Center, as the Buffs gored the Angelo State University Rams, 94-79, in a Lone Star Conference South division contest.
It was the third-straight for WTAMU over ASU, as the Buffs now lead the all-time series, 24-14. The win improved WTAMU to 12-6 overall and 2-1 in LSC South action, while ASU suffered its fourth-consecutive loss and is now 10-8 overall and 0-3 in LSC South play.
Senior forward Jason Campbell continued his hot streak, tying fellow senior, guard Rod Prater for high-point honors with 22 points apiece. Campbell, who netted 15 first-half points, has doubled his scoring average in the Buffs' last 11 games, helping WTAMU to nine wins in that span. Campbell was one rebound short of a double-double, pulling down a game-high nine boards, helping the Buffs to a 42-35 rebounding edge.
Junior guard Carl Lamb, WTAMU's sixth-man, netted 16 points, all in the second half, and dished out a game-high seven assists. Senior guard Eduardo Caviglia tallied 10 points, as every WTAMU player in uniform scored at least two points.
Junior forward Carlos Silva swatted away a career-high six shots and pulled down six rebounds and tied a career-high with four assists.
Prater netted 18 second-half points and dished out six assists.
ASU also had four players in double-figures, led by Kenny Smith's 18 points, 13 in the first half, while Matt Hardin tallied 16 points. Heath Bailey added 13 points to go with his team-leading eight rebounds and Rashawn Childs recorded 11 points before fouling out.
The Buffs shot 50.0 percent (31-62) from the field, including 9-24 (37.5 percent) from 3-point land.
ASU had a 44.9 shooting percent, draining 9-of-27 3-point shots.
The game was nip-and-tuck throughout the first half, as WTAMU would take a five or six-point lead, only to have ASU claw back and stay close.
The Rams took a 41-40 lead two minutes into the second half before the Buffs went on a 16-7 run over the next three and half minutes, capped by two-straight 3-pointers from sophomore guard Matt Pierce to take a 56-47 lead with 14:30 left and force an ASU timeout.
The Buffs had its biggest advantage at 18 points twice in the game, the first with 5:41 to play on a pair of free throws from Prater, and the second with 1:20 to play at 91-73 following a three-point play by Campbell.
Last Action:
The West Texas A&M University men's basketball team road the coattails of its seniors on Senior Night to hang on and upset division frontrunner Texas A&M University-Kingsville in a thrilling 79-76 Lone Star Conference South division contest Saturday night in the Buffs regular-season home finale at the WTAMU Event Center.
After the Buffs opened a double-digit lead in the first half, and reached their largest lead at 18 points at halftime, the Javelinas whittled the lead to single digits and had a chance to send the game into overtime, but TAMU-K's Erik Webb's 3-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
With the loss, the Javelinas relinquished their LSC South lead, falling a half game behind Eastern New Mexico. ENMU had lost the game and the division lead to TAMU-Kingsville Thursday, 89-70, but bounced back to defeat Texas A&M-Commerce, 90-75, Saturday. TAMU-K had its five-game winning streak snapped as well in Saturday's loss, and the Javelinas are now 17-9 overall, 8-3 in LSC South play.
WTAMU won its third in a row and improves to 16-9 overall and 6-4 in LSC South action, currently in third place.
The Buffs' win also snaps a four-game losing streak to the Javelinas, who blew out WTAMU, 86-68 on Jan. 22 at Kingsville, Texas.
Saturday night was Senior Night for the Buffs, and all three made a dramatic impact on the game. Four WTAMU starters posted double figures, led by senior guard Rod Prater's game-high 23 points, 14 in the second half. Senior guard Eduardo Caviglia added 20 points, followed by senior forward Jason Campbell's 18 points and junior guard Carl Lamb's 10. Campbell also pulled down game-high 13 rebounds to register his second double-double of the season.
TAMU-K also had four players in double-digits, led by Robert Hamilton with 19 points, while Jamie Barnett added 18 and Webb added 14 points off the bench.
Will Brown, who lit up Eastern New Mexico for 46 points, including 27 points in the first half, was held scoreless for the first half Saturday and scored his first points at the 13:26 mark and finished with 10 points.
Hamilton pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, while Remi Yusuf dished out a game-high 10 assists.
Ahead 24-19 with 6:35 remaining in the first half, WTAMU erupted for a 19-6 run to close out the half, taking a 43-25 lead into intermission.
The Buffs' lead remained double-digits for the first portion of the second half, before the Javelinas started to chip away at the deficit, cutting to nine with 8:01 to play on a jumper by Hamilton.
With 1:08 remaining Richard Gonzalez had a steal and was fouled as he made the layup, but he missed the ensuing free throw to leave TAMU-K down, 72-70.
Prater hit a pair of free throw with 1:03 remaining to put the Buffs up by four.
A 3-pointer by Gonzalez was off the mark and Campbell corralled the rebound and was fouled. Campbell hit both free throws to give WTAMU some breathing room at 76-70 with 42 seconds to play.
However, that breathing room vanished as Webb hit a trey with 32 seconds remaining to pull TAMU-K within 76-73.
Prater hit the second of free throws with 26.5 seconds on the clock to make it a 77-73 score.
Webb responded again, drilling another 3-pointer with 15.7 ticks left.
WTAMU was called for a violation on the inbounds pass, turning the ball over to TAMU-K. However, Webb missed a layup with 12 seconds and Caviglia snared the rebound and was fouled.
Caviglia hit both free throw to give the Buffs a 79-76 lead with 9.0 seconds on the clock.
The Javelinas tried to get the ball off sooner, but Webb's launch sailed through the air and bounced off the rim as the buzzer rang.
Buffs' Next Action
WTAMU will be on the road for the first round of the LSC Tournament, traveling to either Stephenville, Texas to take on Tarleton State, or else Tahlequah, Okla. to meet Northeastern State, depending on the outcome of this weekend's game.
Fans can catch the action on the Buffalo Sports Network on KGNC 710 AM and www.gobuffsgo.com.
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