Buffs

The nationally ranked Buffs have always done well in protecting their home court. This past weekend, WT took care of business in back-to-back road games. One was a win at Midwestern State, which was the first win in Wichita Falls in head coach Tom Brown’s tenure and the first for the program since 2008.

“They’ve had some really good teams there,” Brown said. “They’ve had some elite eight teams so they’ve been really good in the past. We’ve had some tough games over there and this was a good one for us to get over there and the way way beat them was a lot of fun.”

This week WT will host Texas A&M-Kingsville on Thursday Feb. 15 and host Angelo State for senior day Saturday Feb. 17. WT won both earlier contests on the road, beating ASU 81-77 and Kingsville 70-69. Coach Brown knows both games will be a challenge.

“We’ve had some really good games with Kingsville over the last few years,” Brown said. “They were a regional team last year and it will be a good ball game on Thursday. Then Angelo is right there in the thick of things for regionals as well right now. We got to be able to stay in front of people against Angelo as well as Kingsville. Hopefully we can get a couple W’s this week.”

The Buffs will be honoring four seniors on Saturday with Jordan Evans, Rylan Gerber, Tommy Gove, and David Chavlovich. Brown says these players could be good in any program, have been very special to the program, and have put WT on the map.

“The four seniors we have here are great,” Brown said. “All four of these guys, you’ll see 17 wins their first year, 21 the next, then 26, and currently 22. If you just look at that, those guys are just going up and up and up. That’s very impressive for those players. It’s onto the next guys to continue that. It’s going to be tough, it’ll be emotional those guys are the core group that we brought in.”

WT and Kingsville’s tip is set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and tip-off against Angelo State is set for 4 p.m.

Lady Buffs

Wins at home are always important to any team’s season but wins on the road are especially crucial in terms to the Lone Star Conference race.

Snagging a pair of road wins this past weekend, topping Texas Woman’s, Cameron and Midwestern, was key in terms of finishing in the top half of the conference as they now tally 20 wins on the season.

“[I’m] extremely proud of the girls and the effort,” women’s basketball coach Kristen Mattio said. “We played hard. Cameron was a close game at the half but for the most part, came out really focused. [We] did a good job early on the offensive end to pace ourselves. It’s huge taking steps forward in conference play.”

After dropping the last four of five games, the Lady Buffs look to turn the corner and pick up home wins with the end of the season looming.

“You just take it one game at a time,” Mattio said. “As we always say, the next game is the biggest game of the season and it always feels that way. We need to be playing pretty good.”

The Lady Buffs will finish their home slate with a pair of home games with A&M-Kingsville on Thursday and Angelo State on Saturday, which also will be senior day.

“We are looking for consistency,” Mattio said. “We are looking that we can show up every night, take care of business and win on the road. Consistency is key.”