West Texas A&M Upends Tarleton State, 69-61, to win LSC Championship at Greyhound Arena
Buffaloes Earn Conference's Automatic Berth into the
2003 NCAA Division II National Tournament

PORTALES, NM – Rod Prater scored 20 points and Kyle Caldwell added 12 points and 7 rebounds, as West Texas A&M University defeated Tarleton State University, 69-61, in the Lone Star Conference championship game, March 8 at Greyhound Arena. WTAMU improved to 21-9 on the season and earned the LSC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division II National Tournament. Tarleton State, ranked #2 in the nation, fell to 27-3 overall.

The Buffaloes and Texans were tied, 37-37, at halftime after Tarleton State rallied from a 28-17 deficit. Prater tallied 14 points in the first half for WTAMU, while Brandon Lee led TSU with nine points in the first half.

David Rhone of West Texas scored the first basket of the second half, and the Buffaloes remained in front until Cornell Jones gave the Texans a 49-48 advantage with a pair of free throws at the 9:19 mark. Kenny White restored the lead for WTAMU with a layup 13 seconds later, then Reggie Harris added a jump shot with 8:23 remaining. The Buffs led the rest of the way.

Even so, the margin was just two points, 60-58, after Marcus Jacobs hit the first of two free throws with 2:43 to go. Each team failed to score on its next possession, with WTAMU missing a 3-pointer and TSU committing a turnover. The Buffaloes missed two more 3-pointers with less than 1:30 remaining, but kept the ball alive with offensive rebounds. White grabbed the second rebound, and scored with 1:10 left. Prater then stole the ball from Brandon Lee at the 1:00 mark, and hit two free throws with 0:57 remaining for a 64-58 lead.

Jacobs sank a 3-pointer for TSU with 42 seconds left, but Chris Bracey hit a jumper for West Texas with 34 seconds on the clock. Bracey added the second of two charity shots with 23 seconds left, and Kyle Caldwell completed the scoring with a dunk at the 4-second mark. The Buffaloes ended the game with a 21-12 run that included the final five points of the contest.

Prater and Caldwell led WTAMU in scoring, while Bracey followed with 11 points. Kenny White and David Rhone registered nine points apiece. Bracey also provided six rebounds and two steals, while Caldwell led the Buffaloes with four steals.

TSU’s leading scorer was Danny Jones, with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Jones also blocked two shots and recorded one steal. Brandon Lee chipped in 11 points, three assists and three steals.

Vincent Bridgewater, the Texans’ third leading scorer for the season, did not score while playing 16 minutes. He was 0 of 7 from the floor. WTAMU’s second-leading scorer, Matt Madison, did not score and was 0 for 2 in limited playing time (8 minutes due to injury).
West Texas A&M claimed a 33-29 rebounding margin and limited Tarleton State to 36.2% shooting from the field (17 of 47). The Buffaloes also shots 47.1% for the game (24 of 51) and made 17 of 24 free throws (70.8%).

TSU kept the game close for most of the night by sinking 6 of 15 three-pointers, compared to 4 of 16 three-point shots for WTAMU. The Texans also made 21 of 25 free throws (84.0%).

The Buffaloes earned 13 steals during the game, while forcing 21 turnovers by the Texans. Both teams lost the ball nine times in the second half, with WTAMU finishing with 19 turnovers.

Following the game, the LSC All-Tournament Team was announced. Players selected were Jon Shepherd of Northeastern State University, Cedric Palmer of Eastern New Mexico University, Danny Jones and Tierrius Thomas of Tarleton State, and Chris Bracey and Rod Prater of West Texas A&M. Prater was named LSC Tournament MVP after scoring 18 points in WTAMU’s 78-56 win over NSU in the semifinals, then adding 20 points in the championship game.