LUBBOCK, Texas - No. 25 West Texas A&M scored 18 points off turnovers and held off a late LCU rally to hand the Chaps their second straight loss on Saturday, Feb. 25. 

The Buffs (22-6, 20-2 LSC) opened the game on a 7-2 run, thanks to a three from Larry Wise and a pair of jumpers by Addison Wallace. Rowan Mackenzie scored the first five points for the Chaparrals (18-10, 14-8 LSC), but Damion Thornton and Julius Brown nailed a pair of two-point shots to put WT ahead 13-5 with 12:42 remaining in the opening stanza. 

A triple from Ahamed Mohammed put the Buffs up double digits, but Aaron Gonzales answered with a make from downtown of his own, cutting the deficit to 20-12 with 6:17 left in the first half. Mohammed and Thornton connected on back-to-back three-pointers of their own, and WT swelled the advantage back up 26-12 with 5:02. Vito Vujovic connected on a triple for the Chaps, but a make from inside the arc by Brown and another three-pointer by Wise gave the Buffs a 33-20 lead at halftime.

Cameron Bell opened the second half for the Herd with a make from downtown, but an old-fashioned three-point play from Russell Harrison got the Lubbock native going in the second half, following his connection from the line with a make from deep. Wise connected from deep again, but jumpers from Gonzales and Mackenzie lowered the WT lead to 42-32 with 15:50 remaining in the game. 

The two rivals traded baskets, before a mini 4-0 run by Harrison cut the Buffs lead down to 46-41. A three-ball from Najeeb Muhammad connected, and the Chaps found themselves down 48-44 with 11:35 left in the contest. Makes from Brown and Brock Mishak put WT back ahead by eight, but another triple from Muhammad cut the lead down to 54-49 with 9:47 to go. 

Mishak answered the Chap run with a jumper, while a Mohammed three and a Thornton layup swelled the Buffs advantage back to double digits, going up 61-51 with 6:30 remaining. Muhammad went on a quick 5-0 run himself, and LCU found themselves down 61-56 with 5:36 remaining. 

The two foes then traded free throws, before a triple from Zach Toussaint swelled the Buff lead to 68-60. Back-to-back jumpers from Mackenzie got the Chaparrals within single digits, and a three from Harrison cut the WT lead down to 74-67 with 1:36 remaining. The Buffs were automatic from the charity stripe down the stretch, as WT went 10-for-12 from the line to hold off LCU in the final 96 seconds of the game to take the 84-77 victory.

WT scored 18 points off 14 total turnovers. Despite the loss, it is the second straight game that LCU has outshot their opponent from the field, as the Chaps shot 50.0 percent from the field compared to 46.3 percent by the Buffs. 

In his final regular season game as a Chap, Harrison scored 26 points to lead LCU, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Harrison also pulled down six rebounds and had three steals.

Muhammad had a career day for LCU, scoring a season-high 22 points. The junior shot 3-for-4 from three, and hauled in three boards. Mackenzie finished in double digits for LCU, scoring 17 points and pulling down eight rebounds. 

Brown led the Buffs with 19 points, while also having five points and four assists. Thornton flirted with a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds.

LCU earns the five-seed in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, and will face St. Edward's in the first round on Friday, Mar. 3. Tip-off is set for 8:30 PM. Tickets are available on lonestarconference.org. The game will also be streamed on the LSC Digital Network.