Jan. 22, 2005

Box Score

The West Texas A&M University men's basketball team continued its struggles Saturday night in a Lone Star Conference South Division showdown with No. 13 Texas A&M University-Commerce, 67-50, at the WTAMU Event Center.

It was WTAMU's second consecutive game without head coach Rick Cooper, whose father past away Thursday in West Virginia.

WTAMU Athletics donated half of its gate proceeds to the Amarillo Chapter of the American Red Cross to aid the Southeast Asia Tsunami Relief Fund.

The Buffs maintained their "win-lose" pattern of their last six games, falling to 7-10 overall and 1-1 in LSC South action.

The Lions won their third game in a row and nine of last 10, improving to 15-3 overall and 2-1 in the LSC South.

WTAMU shot a paltry 30.9 percent (17-of-55) from the field and 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) behind the 3-point arc. The Buffs were also 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from the free throw line.

TAMU-C warmed the nets to the tune of 52.1 percent (25-of-48), shooting 50.0 percent (5-of-10) from 3-point land. The Lions shot 75.0 percent (12-of-16) from the charity stripe.

Senior guard Carl Lamb led WTAMU with 15 points, while senior Carlos Silva tallied 10 points off the bench.

The Lions were led by Chris Fantroy with a game-high 19 points, followed by 18 from Jermart Miller and Jonathan Hopkins with 12 points.

Fantroy pulled down a game-high seven rebounds, as the Lions outrebounded the Buffs, 37-32.

The loss snaps WTAMU's three-game win streak in the series as the Buffs still hold a 37-21 advantage.

The Lions led from the get-go, as they jumped out to an 11-2 lead with 14:40 to go on a Fantroy dunk.

The Buffs closed to 18-14 with 10:27 to go on a pair of free throws from senior forward Jason Campbell, but that would be the closest WTAMU would get for the rest of the game.

The Lions led at halftime, 37-27, and the deficit was double-digits for the entire second half and climbed to as much as 21 at 65-44 on a jumper from Fantroy.

WTAMU doesn't have much time to rest on its laurels, as the Buffs return to the court on Monday, hosting border-rival Eastern New Mexico University at 8 p.m. following the WTAMU women's contest.

The Greyhounds are 7-10 overall and 0-2 in LSC South, as they've lost three of their last four, including falling to Midwestern State University, 92-86, in overtime Saturday night.

For ticket information, contact the WTAMU Athletics Ticket Office at 806-651-4424.