Stumbling down the stretch proved fatal to the West Texas A&M Buffalo men’s basketball team as the #3 ranked Texans of Tarleton State outlasted the Buffs at the Wisdom Gym in Stephenville 81-68, on Feb. 15 while the same ailments helped the Lions of Texas A&M-Commerce steal a 84-83 victory from the Buffs on Feb 22 at the First United Bank Center.
On Feb. 15 against Tarleton, the Buffs played well by the first timeout of the game, lead 11-8 with 15:48 left. However, the Texans dominated the offensive boards in the first half, but hot shooting from the Buffs kept them slightly ahead, and by the first media timeout, the Buffs led 20-18.
The last few minutes of the first half were intense, as WTAMU senior guard Drimir Ferguson knocked down several three-point shots and a few free throws to give the Buffs a 37-31 lead. Tarleton would come back and tie the game at 37 apiece with just seconds remaining in the first half. A last second dunk from WT junior forward David Duncan would send the Buffs into the locker room with a two-point half time lead, 39-37.
The Texans came out of the locker room on fire, and went on a 14-2 scoring run to reclaim the lead at 56-47 and forcing a WT timeout. The teams traded a few misses, and at the under-12 minute timeout, the Texans led 59-52. WT would come out of the timeout and connect on the next two shots and with 9:22 left to play, cutting the Texans lead to three at 60-57.
Offensive rebounds for the Texans sealed the deal as time began to expire in Stephenville. The closing minutes of the game saw the Buffs slowly fade away and fall to the Texans.
The Buffs were led by Ferguson with 24 points and junior guard Tez Dumars with 11. Junior forward Antjuan Ball and junior guard Keon Pledger each recorded 8 points for Buffs.
On Feb. 22, the Buffs started the game shooting well. This was initiated by WT senior guard David Gibbs who sank a NBA-caliber three-pointer for the first points of the game before Commerce answered with their own deep three pointer. Commerce would take the early lead at 9-7 with 14:36 on the clock. A Pledger three pointer would give the Buffs a 14-11 lead with 12:10 left in the first half. A Duncan layup and two free throws from Pledger would give the Buffs a 19-15 lead.
The Buffs held on to a small lead until the Lions tied the game 23-23 on a fast break layup with 7:36 remaining in the first half. The Buffs and Lions traded buckets to finish up the first half of play, and at the break, the Buffs led 41-36.
The Lions came out of the locker room with a vengeance, sinking a three-point shot and tying the Buffs at 51 all with 15:40 left. The Buffs answered with a scoring run to reclaim the lead 61-56 with 10:54 left to play.
The Lions went on a run of their own, taking a 76-71 lead with 4:53 left. The Buffs countered with another offensive run to take an 82-78 lead with 2:24 left on the clock. The teams then traded buckets and with less than one minute to play, the Buffs had a two-point lead at 82-80. The Lions were fouled on a three-point shot their next possession and made all three free throws to take a one-point lead at 83-82 with ten seconds left to play. A last second desperation shot would not fall for the Buffs and they drop the final home game of the season.
Leading scorers for the Buffs were Pledger with 19 point, Ferguson with 17, and junior guard Miles Gatewood with 14.
With the heartbreaking loss, the Buffs fell to 10-15 (2-11, LSC) on the season while the LSC leading Texans cruise to 23-1 overall (12-1, LSC) with a victory over Eastern New Mexico while the Lions improve to 17-8 (6-7, LSC).
The Buffs will finish the 2014 regular season on March 1 in Portales against Eastern New Mexico. Tipoff is set for 8:30 pm.
