Aggies suffer OT loss to West Texas A&M
GAME BOXSCORE >>
LAWTON, Okla. (Jan. 10) - The Cameron men's basketball team led by as many as 18 points in the first half of Saturday's Lone Star Conference crossover meeting with West Texas A&M. But the Buffaloes rallied to tie the game at the end of regulation and left Cameron's Aggie Gym with an 87-81 overtime victory.
Coach Garrette Mantle's Aggies (5-9) led the entire game until the 5:50 mark of the second half before suffering their fifth straight loss and eighth in the last nine games.
Cameron will look to end that streak on Thursday, when the Aggies visit LSC crossover rival Midwestern State in Wichita Falls, Texas. Tipoff is scheduled to follow a women's contest which is set for 6 p.m.
The Aggies got off to a strong start on Saturday, shooting 80 percent from the floor in the opening minutes of the game. Cameron raced to a 23-7 lead on Mike Wallace's three-pointer at the 13:31 mark and appeared to be in control of the game. Another three-pointer, this time by Trae Lister with 11:15 left in the half, put the Aggies on top by 18 at 28-10.
West Texas A&M closed the gap with a 15-5 run midway through the half, but the Aggies still led by 12 at intermission.
Cameron continued to lead much of the second half, before a 16-3 run capped by a pair of free throws by Keenan Hooker gave the Buffaloes their first lead of the game at the 5:50 mark. The teams flip-flopped the lead from there, with Cameron taking a two-point advantage on a pair of Marcus Girtmon free throws with 1:06 showing on the clock. West Texas A&M missed an opportunity to tie in the final seconds, but Richard Higginbotham pulled down a key offensive rebound and was fouled with three seconds left in the game. Higginbotham made both charity tosses and a desperation three-pointer by the Aggies at the buzzer was off the mark, forcing the overtime period.
West Texas A&M opened the bonus frame with five straight points and never surrendered the lead in overtime.
Girtmon led all players in the game with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Chad Crawford added 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Mike Wallace had 12 points for the Aggies. Rod Prater paced the WTAM offense with 20 points, leading a crew of four Buffalo players in double-figures.
