CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M men’s basketball takes a break from Division II play as the Buffs host the Pioneers of Wayland Baptist in an exhibition game on Monday. Admission for Monday’s 5 p.m. game is free to all. After the game, members of the Buffs basketball team will sign schedule posters.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
A live stream will be available for the game provided by the West Texas A&M athletic communications department through the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. Fans can buy a yearly pass for $140 that grants access to all broadcasts for the LSC including previous years or a $30 monthly subscription. Live stats will also be provided for fans to stay up to date.
 
NABC TOP 25 POLL
Northwest Missouri State is ranked first with 10 of the 16 first-place votes followed by reigning National Champion Nova Southeastern (5fpv), West Liberty, Indiana (Pa.), Indianapolis (1 fpv), Lincoln Memorial, and WT. Fellow Lone Star Conference member Angelo State was also posted in the national standings at 19th.
 
WT is one of six South Central regional programs ranked with Colorado Mesa (14^th), Fort Lewis (15^th), Black Hills State (17^th), Colorado School of Mines (18^th), and Angelo State (19^th) earning spots in the poll.
 
SCOUTING WAYLAND BAPTIST
Wayland Baptist comes to Canyon with an overall NAIA record of 3-1 after dropping its last contest to Our Lady of the Lake, 84-73. The Pioneers started the season with a 50-point win over Bacone College, 115-65. At the Abe Lemons Classic in Oklahoma City, Wayland Baptist went 2-0 with wins over Missouri Baptist and Florida College.
 
The Pioneers are led by Linton Brown who averages 18.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Brett Leach paces Wayland Baptist with 7.3 rebounds per game while also leading the team in total assists and steals. The Pioneers average 86.5 points per game while giving up 71.0 for a 16.5 scoring margin. Clint Galyean is in his second season at the helm of Wayland Baptist, posting a 45-25 overall record.
 
THE SERIES
Although Monday’s game won’t count towards the series record, WT leads the all-time series with Wayland Baptist, 22-2. The Buffs are a perfect 17-0 at home against the Pioneers and 5-2 in Plainview.
 
W, 95-74 – Canyon, 2015
L, 91-99 – Plainview, 2014
W, 84-82 – Canyon, 2013
W, 56-50 – Canyon, 2010
L, 72-86 – Plainview, 2007
 
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach Tom Brown enters his 10th season at the helm of Buffalo Basketball, building the program into one of the elite NCAA Division II schools in the nation.  He has guided the Buffs to seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 240-58 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 80.5%.  Brown registered his 200th career victory on Jan. 31, 2022, after the Buffs defeated St. Edward’s, 82-72, to become just the third coach in program history to reach the 200-win plateau.
 
LAST TIME OUT
WT watched a 10-point second half lead slip away in the closing minutes against MSU Denver on Thursday. The Roadrunners escaped Canyon with a one-point victory after Brayden Maldonado nailed a game-winning three with 1.5 seconds remaining to steal an 80-79 victory. Larry Wise scored a team-high 21 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists. Kieran Elliott notched his first collegiate double-double as the Lubbock, Texas native scored 15 points with 15 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive side of the court. Ryland Holt and Zach Toussaint also chipped in 12 points each. 
 
After scoring 21 against MSU Denver, Wise became the first person since Qua Grant (2018-21) to score 20+ points in three consecutive games. Elliott also matched one of Grant’s previous accomplishments as the freshman became the first Buff since 2020 to record 15 rebounds in a game.
 
RECORD WATCH
Zach Toussaint is moving his way up the ladder in the program’s 3-point career leaderboard.  The Johnsburg, Ill., product ranks tied for third all-time with 310 threes after matching former Buff Jordan Evans (2015-2018) in the Buffs’ game against MSU Denver. David Chavlovich (2014-18) is the program’s all-time 3-point leader with 388.
 
Toussaint and fellow senior Larry Wise both broke the 1,000-point mark last season. Currently, Toussaint ranks tied for seventh with 1,440 points in Maroon & White while Wise ranks 22^nd with 1,109.
 
ON THIS DAY: NOV. 20
Although Monday’s exhibition won’t count towards the record book, WT is 5-2 all time on Nov. 20. The Buffs last played on this date in 2009 where WT fell to Arkansas Tech 78-73 in Weatherford, Okla.
 
L, 63-78 – Arkansas Tech, 2009
L, 72-86 – Wayland Baptist, 2007
W, 70-60 – Fort Lewis, 1999
W, 85-56 – Southwestern Oklahoma State, 1997
W, 80-69 – UC-Colorado Springs, 1995
 
LSC PRESEASON FAVORITE
WT was voted to repeat as Lone Star Conference regular season champs with 703 total points including 34 of the possible 45 first-place votes. Angelo State came in second in the preseason poll with 675 points and nine first-place votes. St. Edward’s (600, 1 fpv) came in third followed by Lubbock Christian (564, 1 fpv) and DBU (522) to round out the top five. Texas A&M-Kingsville, voted to finish sixth, tallied 497 points with St. Mary’s following at 443 and Eastern New Mexico at 377. Midwestern State (298) and UAFS (282) finish the top 10. Texas A&M International (278), Western New Mexico (216), UT Permian Basin (208), Oklahoma Christian, (183), UT Tyler (176), and Cameron (93) rounded out the poll.
 
THE LONE STAR
The 2023-24 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 men’s teams in two divisions with each team playing a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against teams from the opposite division for a total of 22 conference games.
 
The LSC Basketball Championships will feature an 8-team field in 2024 with seeding based on the 22 conference games. The divisional winners will receive the top two seeds in the tournament. The championships are set to take place March 7-8-9-10, 2024, at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
 
2022-23 REVIEW
The Buffs come off another successful campaign after finishing 27-7 in 2022-23 and claiming the program’s sixth-consecutive Lone Star Conference Tournament title. In the LSC Championship game, Zach Toussaint drained a pull-up jump shot with three seconds left to give WT a 64-63 win over No. 19 Angelo State. After receiving the automatic qualifier, the Buffs were selected as the top seed in the region and hosted the regional tournament. After a 78-56 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville and a 69-59 win over No. 23 Angelo State, WT matched up with No. 21 Black Hills State for a spot in the Elite Eight. The game came down to the last tenth of a second as Damion Thornton’s game-winner was waved off as the Yellow Jackets advanced with a 68-67 victory.
 
UP NEXT
WT returns to regular season play on Saturday, Nov. 25 with their final non-conference game against Oklahoma Baptist. Action between the Bison and Buffaloes starts at 7 p.m. inside the Noble Complex in Shawnee, Okla.
 
FOLLOW THE BUFFS
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