Feb. 26, 2008

West Texas A&M men's basketball notes in PDF Format

CANYON, Texas - There is much on the line for the West Texas A&M men's basketball team on Wednesday when it closes out its 2007-08 regular season by hosting the Abilene Christian Wildcats in a 8 p.m. contest at the First United Bank Center. A victory in the contest will clinch the Lone Star Conference South Division regular season title for the WT men and ensure them of the top spot in the 2008 LSC Championships, which will be held in Bartlesville, Okla., March 5-9.

The contest will not be an easy one as the Wildcats enter the contest with an 18-7 overall record this season and a 5-5 mark in LSC South contests. ACU started the season as one of the nation's hottest teams, winning 15 of its first 17 contests to climb into the nationally rankings. The `Cats have remained one of the country's most potent offensive squads, ranking first in the LSC in scoring offense at 87.1 points per contest and with a .512 team shooting percentage.

The Buffs emerged victorious in their first meeting with ACU this season, a 90-82 victory at Moody Coliseum in Abilene on Feb. 7. Seniors Robert Lee and Andre Hill led the way in the win over the `Cats with Lee notching a game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting and Hill contributing a season-high 21 points.

For the season, Lee has been WT's most steady contributor on the offensive end, averaging 17 points per ball game, a figure that includes a 20.3 scoring average during league play. The Fort Worth, Texas, native has led the Buffs in scoring in 13 of 26 games this season since transferring from the University of Houston. In addition to his big scoring night the first time against ACU, Hill has been one of the LSC's most disruptive defensive forces, ranking among the leaders in the conference with 41 blocked shots this season.

In addition to Lee and Hill, the Buffs have gotten great contributions from fellow seniors Pierre Barlow, Tyler Cooper and Chris Hinz, who have all helped the Buffs become one of the hottest teams in the country by winning 12 of their last 13 games. The five seniors, who will be playing in the final home game of their WT careers, will be honored prior to tip-off of the ACU game.