LSC Men's Basketball Championship Central

Despite trailing by 13 points at the half, West Texas A&M wasn’t about to let two big streaks come to an end.

            With a furious second-half comeback and outscoring St. Edward’s by nearly 30 points, the Buffaloes not only won their 23rd consecutive game but also their third straight LSC Championship title.

            By beating the Hilltoppers 81-65 at Comerica Center, WT also avenges its only loss of the season as the Buffs lost to SEU back in December. But now with a 32-1 record, the Buffaloes will remain as the No. 1 seed for next week’s regional tournament in Canyon. SEU entered the weekend ranked second in the regional and had a shot to host the tournament.

            For a while Sunday, it appeared that would be the case, especially when the Hilltoppers led by 17 in the first half and still had a 13-point lead at the break.

            But in the first two minutes of the second half, SEU’s Ashton Spears committed his third and fourth fouls and was forced to the bench for nearly 10 minutes of play. WT went on a 14-4 run in the first five minutes, led by clutch 3-pointers by Eric Mosley and Jordan Collins.        

            Both teams went back and forth and traded the lead several times before WT led 68-65 with 3:23 to play. But that’s when the Buffs put it away, ending the game on a 13-0 run.

            Joel Murray was named tournament MVP with 21 points on Sunday. Murray, who scored a career-high 32 on Friday night, also had nine rebounds and four assists on Sunday. Joining him on the all-tournament team was Qua Grant, who scored 18 points with seven rebounds and four steals. Grant also had 32 points on Saturday night.

            Other key players for the Buffs were Jon’il Fugett with 12 points, while Collins and Mosley each had 12.

            SEU was led by Jake Krafka’s 15 points and Ryan Garza’s 13 points. Spears shot just 3 of 16 from the floor and had nine points. August Haas finished with nine points, eight assists and six rebounds with three steals.

2020 LSC Championship All-Tournament Team:
Joel Murray, West Texas A&M (MVP)
Qua Grant, West Texas A&M
Ashton Spears, St. Edward’s
August Haas, St. Edward’s
Collin Turner, Angelo State
 
West Texas A&M Notes:  

• WT became 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 23 consecutive wins, dating back to a Dec. 12 loss at St. Edward’s.
• The Buffaloes are one of four teams in NCAA Division II with just one loss. And they’ve now defeated every team on the schedule after beating the Hilltoppers.
• With four steals on Sunday, Qua Grant set the WT single season record for steals with 80.

 
St. Edward’s Notes:

• Spears ranked fifth in the nation in steals per game (2.71) and total steals (76) but did not have a steal on Sunday.
• The Hilltoppers, who are in the first season of the LSC, missed the chance to win their second straight conference tournament title.
• August Haas, the school’s all-time leader in assists, upped his total to 467 with eight assists on Saturday. Haas had 17 assists combined in the first two games of this tournament.  

2020 Lone Star Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Tuesday, March 3, 2020 (men's first round games on-campus)
11) Oklahoma Christian at 6) DBU (Dallas, Texas), DBU 69-67 (OT)
10) UT Permian Basin at 7) Tarleton (Stephenville, Texas), TSU 84-68
9) UAFS at 8) Texas A&M-Commerce (Commerce, Texas), A&M-C 77-73
12) Midwestern State at 5) Lubbock Christian (Lubbock, Texas), LCU 79-61
 
Friday, March 6, 2020 (at Frisco, Texas)
SESSION THREE
Game 5: Noon, 3) Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. 6) DBU, TAMUK 71-66
Game 6: 2:30 p.m., 2) St. Edward’s vs. 7) Tarleton, SEU 60-52
SESSION FOUR
Game 7: 6:00 p.m., 1) West Texas A&M vs. 8) Texas A&M-Commerce, WT 85-72
Game 8: 8:30 p.m., 4) Angelo State vs. 5) Lubbock Christian, ASU 97-92 (2OT)
 
Saturday, March 7, 2020 (at Frisco, Texas)
SESSION SIX
Game 11: 6:00 p.m., 1) West Texas A&M vs. 4) Angelo State, WT 87-77
Game 12: 8:30 p.m., 3) Texas A&M-Kingsville vs. 2) St. Edward’s, SEU 71-68
 
Sunday, March 8, 2020 (at Frisco, Texas)
SESSION SEVEN
Game 14: 3:30 p.m., Men’s Championship: 1) West Texas A&M vs. 2) St. Edward’s, WT 81-65