The Buffs suffer their first loss at home since November, but the good news is that WTAMU had already locked up a regular season Lone Star Conference title and will be the No. 1-seed in this weekend’s LSC Tournament.
The Buffs finish the regular season at 26-3 overall and 20-2 in league play. WTAMU will now get the No. 8-seed Cameron in a quarterfinal at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Comerica Center in Frisco.
Thursday’s game
A career-high 39 points from Larry Wise powered the No. 4-ranked West Texas A&M men’s basketball team past Lone Star Conference rival Lubbock Christian, 96-91.
Wise’s scoring total moved the senior into sixth on the all-time scoring list with 1,578 points. In addition to being a career-high, Wise becomes the seventh player in WT history to score 39 or more points and ties Simmie Hill for the seventh-highest single-game scoring total.
Three Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Thursday night highlighted by a game-high 39 from Larry Wise. Ryland Holt (20) and Kieran Elliott (19) also ended their night in double figures. Holt and Ahamed Mohammed pulled in eight rebounds each while Zach Toussaint dished out three assists.
Saturday’s game
A second-half comeback wasn’t enough as WTAMU dropped the final game of the regular season to Lubbock Christian, 72-67.
Four Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Saturday afternoon led by a team-high 17 from Zach Toussaint. Kieran Elliott (16), Ryland Holt (13), and Ahamed Mohammed (10) also ended their night in double figures. Holt pulled in a game-high nine rebounds with a block and four steals while Mohammed dished out four assists.
The Buffs are now focused on their search for a seventh-consecutive Lone Star Conference Tournament title.
LSC Men’s Basketball Championships
Friday through Sunday
at Comercia Center, Frisco
Thursday’s quarterfinals
No. 3 Lubbock Christian (21-9) vs. No. 6 St. Edward’s (21-10), Noon
No. 2 Dallas Baptist (24-4) vs. No. 7 Texas A&M-International (17-11), 2:30 p.m.
No. 1 West Texas A&M (26-3) vs. No. 8 Cameron (17-11), 6 p.m.
No. 4 Eastern New Mexico (19-9) vs. No. Angelo State (19-9), 8:30 p.m.
Saturday’s semifinals
LCU-SEU winner vs. DBU-TAMI winner, Noon
WTAMU-Cameron winner vs. ENMU-ASU winner, 2:30 p.m.
Sunday’s championship
1 p.m.
