LSC Men's Basketball Championship Central

West Texas A&M’s Qua Grant showed why he was named the LSC Player of the Year. And his teammates showed why the Buffs are the top seed in the conference and have won 22 straight games.

            Grant put on a show, tying his career-high with 32 points as the Buffs outlasted a tough Angelo State squad, 87-77 in the semifinals of the LSC Championship.

            The Buffaloes will not only look to win their 23rd straight game, but also their third straight tournament title when the face the winner of Texas A&M-Kingsville/St. Edward’s at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at Comerica Center.

            A win on Sunday would also lock up the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament for the Buffaloes, who improved to 31-1. Meanwhile, ASU (20-8) is currently ranked 8th in the region and will have to wait for an at-large berth.

            The Rams hung with WT for most of the game, even trailed by just two points in the final minutes of action. But it’s likely they ran out of gas, considering their double-overtime win Friday night against LCU finished only 19 hours before Saturday’s matchup with the LSC’s best team.

            Still, the Rams kept it close, thanks to 23 points each from Andres Ibarguen and Camron Reedus. Collin Turner, who set the LSC Championship single-game record on Friday with 47 points, had 13 on 6-of-19 shooting, despite playing 40 minutes.

            The Buffaloes got 19 from Joel Murray and 12 from Eric Mosley. But three players off the bench – Zach Toussaint, Hayden Blankley and JT Warren all contributed with clutch shots down the stretch, prompting head coach Tom Brown to credit his “role players” for stepping up in the second half.

            WT hit 12 of 27 from 3-point range, including four from Grant, who added six rebounds and three assists.

WT Notes:  

• For the second straight night, WT saw players tie their career-high in scoring with 32 points. Qua Grant and Joel Murray became the first teammates to have 30-point games in the same LSC tournament. 
• Grant and Murray are now tied for second-most points by a WT player in LSC Championship play. Only Damien Lolar (2006) had more with a 34-point performance. Last year, Brandon Lee scored 32 in the finals against the Lions.
• WT is looking to become just the second team in LSC Championship history to win three straight tournament titles. The last team to accomplish that feat was Abilene Christian in 1985-87.
• The Buffs extended their program record with 22 consecutive wins, dating back to a Dec. 12 loss at St. Edward’s, the current 2 seed in this tournament.
• Grant and Murray were the only two players to attempt free throws for the Buffs, attempting seven each.

 
ASU Notes: 

• Collin Turner saw his tournament average drop to 30.0 points per game after scoring 13, less than a full day after his record-breaking 47-point performance.
• Turner set the LSC Championship record on Friday with 21 free throws made and 25 attempts. However, the next night he didn’t make a single free throw, missing his only attempt. 
• After losing to WT twice in the regular season by 15 in Canyon and 14 in San Angelo, Saturday’s 10-point loss was the closest margin of the three games.
• On Friday, Turner tied ASU’s single-game scoring record, set by Jeff Fudge, who scored 47 against Eastern New Mexico in 1990. Turner’s 47 points set an LSC Championship single-game record, surpassing UCO’s Joe Newton, who had 44 in 1998.