Canyon, Texas -- The West Texas A&M University Buffs took control midway through the first overtime and defeated the Mid-America Christian University Evangels 92-84 tonight (Jan. 2) in Canyon, Texas.
The Buffs, an NCAA D-II school in the Lone Star Conference, won for the eighth time in their last nine games to improve to 8-4 overall.
It was 78-78 heading into the extra session and the Evangels (8-6) squeaked ahead 81-80 on a split at the free throw line by Jarius Wilson with 2:59 left.
That's the point the Buffs gained command as a pair of threes by David Chavlovich ignited an 8-0 surge that made it 88-81 at the 1:26 mark.
Following a three by Semar Farris that pulled the Evangels within four, Miles Gatewood answered with a layup with 40 seconds left and two free throws then put it away for the Buffs.
The opening half was close throughout and featured eight ties before a third straight score from Jason Nwisienyi gave the Evangels a 38-36 lead at the break.
With the score again knotted for the 12th time at 54-54 at the 12:11 mark, the Evangels went on a run of 10-0 that was capped by consecutive threes by Farris and then a trey from Brock Hunter gave MACU its largest lead of the game of 67-56 with 8:34 remaining.
The lead was still seven when Gatewood nailed back-to-back treys to quickly bring the Buffs within 71-70 at the 4:22 mark.
After Jerrick Massenburge split two free throws, Gatewood hit a jumper to tie the score with 3:14 left.
Farris put the Evangels back on top with a layup before Chavlovich connected from the perimeter to put the Buffs on top for the first time since the 15:36 mark of the second half.
Following a jumper by Josh Smith that again put the Evangels in front, the Buffs got two offensive rebounds on their ensuing possession and finally took advantage with another three by Chavlovich that made it a two-point lead for the Buffs.
Farris once again answered for the Evangels and after a defensive stop MACU had a chance to win the game, but a steal by Gatewood prevented the Evangels from getting off a shot before the end of regulation.
Farris led the Evangels with a personal season-high of 31 points along with a team-high six assists. Wilson added 11 points and Smith scored nine and tallied a personal season-best of 10 rebounds. It was also a career night for Nwisienyi, who scored a career-high nine points.
The Buffs were paced by Chavlovich and Gatewood, who scored 27 and 26 points, respectively. Tez Dumars scored 14 and Antjuan Ball recorded a game-high 12 boards.
MACU did out-rebound the Buffs, 44-41 overall with a 21-18 edge on the offensive glass.
The Evangels will next resume Sooner Athletic Conference action next Thursday night (Jan. 8) at home against John Brown University. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
