Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score Goodwell, Okla.—An exciting matchup in the Oscar Williams Field House Tuesday evening ended in favor of the visiting team as West Texas A&M defeated the OPSU men's basketball team 87-77.

The Aggies persisted through all forty minutes of play and gave a strong second-half performance that put WT to the test. Down by ten points just three minutes into the game, the Aggies amped up their defense forcing three fouls on the Buffs; Antonio Manns, Jr. went 4-4 from the line to help pull OPSU within three points at the 15:26 mark. Less than a minute later Zoran Arsenovic came through with consecutive layups which narrowed the Buffalo lead to one point.

The Buffs had pulled ahead by five with nine minutes remaining in the half, when Arsenovic broke out with another successful layup followed by a long distance shot good for three to tie the score at 25-25 with 7:04 left on the clock. It was then that WT's leading scorer, David Chavlovich, turned up the heat; Chavlovich sunk three shots from beyond the arc to boost the Buffs' lead back to double digits in the final minutes of the first half. At the break West Texas held a 43-35 lead over OPSU.

A fast-break layup by Dedrick Shannon, Jr. followed by a basket in the paint by Arsenovic gave the Aggies a quick four points to start the second half; but the Buffs then landed 4-5 shots and gained a 13-point advantage with 15:45 minutes still to play. The combined efforts of Jared Straight and Melvin Mitchell helped the Aggies pull back within striking distance midway through the half. At the 7:15 mark the Aggies rallied, and went on to outscore the Buffs 9-2 through a three-minute stint.

The score was 69-72 with four minutes left in the game and the Aggies down by three; but that would be the closest they would come as Chavlovich came through clutch with back-to-back threes shifting the momentum back to the Buffaloes. A dunk by WT's Ryan Quaid seemed to seal the deal putting the Buffs up by 11 with under two minutes remaining. The Aggies battled to the bitter end but could not pull out the victory.

In the Aggies' first loss of the season, Zoran Arsenovic and Antonio Manns, Jr. accounted for 40 of the team's 77 points; Arsenovic led the team in scoring with 22 points and Manns was close behind totaling 18. Melvin Mitchell contributed 13 points for OPSU, and Jared Straight put up nine points, all from beyond the arc. WT's Chavlovich led the game with 31 points which included eight three-pointers; he also led the game in assists with nine.

Manns earned his first double-double of the season as well as a game-high with 11 total rebounds. Dedrick Shannon, Jr. brought down seven of the team's 33 total boards. Jordan Evans put up a double-double for the Buffs scoring 17 points with ten rebounds on the night. The Aggies totaled 11 steals on 16 WT turnovers; Jared Straight led the game with three steals. OPSU scored 11 points off turnovers while West Texas got away with 21 points on seven stolen balls.

The Aggies' shooting improved dramatically after halftime, going from a 27 percent average in the first half to a 52 percent average in the second. They also increased their three-point accuracy by 15 percent in the second half. For the game, WT averaged 48 percent in shooting. OPSU shined at the line shooting 75 percent compared to WT's 59 percent free-throw average.

Head Coach Jerry Olson said this after the game, "I liked our effort and felt that we played very hard, but, I was disappointed in the number of easy shots we missed." He commented on Chavlovich saying, "He [Chavolvich] is a great player and made two great shots at crunch time. However, I'm also disappointed that someone who was not supposed to be allowed one three point attempt was able to take 13." Olson concluded, "West Texas is a heck of a team and very hard to guard against with so many shooters."

Aggie fans will have two more chances to see the men's team in action before the holiday break. The Aggies will take on Eccleisa College Thursday evening at 7 p.m., and wrap up their fall home season Saturday with a game against Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College at 7 p.m.

The Aggies CAN Make a Difference food drive continues through the week. For every canned or non-perishable food item donated at Aggie home basketball games, fans will receive one entry into a raffle for a chance to win a personalized OPSU basketball jersey and signed Aggie basketball; one winner will be drawn during halftime of the men's game on Dec. 5.