GOODWELL, Okla. –West Texas A&M received its best scoring outing of the season in outscoring Oklahoma Panhandle State, 86-60, Monday night at the Oscar Williams Fieldhouse in Guymon, Okla.
The win lifts WTAMU to 4-0 on the year, while OPSU falls to 2-7.
“We had a good week of practice, we took Wednesday and Thursday off and just tried to improve,” said WT head coach Rick Cooper. “We executed very well, offensively, which really helped us on the defensive end.
“We shot the ball sell tonight and I thought Lionel (Foster) and Chubby (Henderson) did a very good job of getting us into our offensive sets. LD (Hall) is a streak shooter and tonight he was on his game.”
Coming off of a 19-day layoff, the Buffs came out fresh, opening a double-digit first-half advantage, leading by 12 at the 10:30 mark on a Joe Mincey three-pointer and by as many as 16 points, by the 7:40 mark.
OPSU then used a 7-0 run to narrow the margin to nine points before LaDarius Hall’s driving layup and free throw pushed the margin back to 12.
WT matched that 16 point lead at the 15:36 mark of the second half on a Hall three-pointer from the left wing.
Alex Davis short jumper at the 12 minute mark pushed the Buffaloes’ lead to a game-high 19 points, 63-44. A Hall three-pointer from the right corner, his fifth of the game, pushed that lead to
23 points, 34-68, with 9:58 remaining in the contest.
Playing strong defensively, the Buffs held the Aggies to just three points over one five-minute stretch of the second half.
In the games latter stages, the Buffaloes took advantage from the foul stripe, at one point hitting eight-consecutive free throws. A Mason White put-back at 3:38 pushed the Buffaloes advantage to 21 points, 79-56. Jordan Ashmore hit a three, his first of the season, at the one-minute mark to close out the scoring, making the final 86-60.
Joe Mincey hit a season-high 19 points, LaDarius Hall scored 17 and Courtney Carr added 15, three of the slam dunk variety. Alex Davis pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds, while Chubby Henderson contributed six assists.
OPSU was led by redshirt freshman Steve Miller and Ray Pinkney, who scored 13 points apiece. Miller also grabbed a team-high five rebounds and dished five assists.
“We’re needing for our new kids to come together as a team and a game like tonight really helps us begin to jell as a team,” Cooper said. “I was very happy with our effort tonight and now we have to focus on opening Lone Star Conference play this weekend.”
The Buffaloes open Lone Star Conference play this Thursday, Dec. 2, when they host Cameron. Tipoff at the First United Bank Center is set for 8 p.m. CST.
No comments:
Post a Comment