FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Buffaloes Shoots 52% From Three in Elite Eight Win
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Ryan Quaid recorded a double-double to lead 11th-ranked West Texas A&M to an 87-73 victory over 24th-ranked Le Moyne in the NCAA Championships Quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon at Heritage Court at the Sanford Pentagon.
The Dolphins, who won the East Region championship and advanced to the national quarterfinals for the first time in the program's history, finish the season with a record of 27-7. The 27 wins are the most in the program's history.
Senior forward Isaiah Eisendorf led three Dolphins in double figures with 13 points, while adding a team-best eight rebounds. Senior forward Robert Jones III and redshirt senior guard Tyquan Rolon each posted 12 points, while Rolon added six first-half assists.
Quaid led five double-digit scorers for West Texas A&M with a game-high 25 points, including 14 in the first half, and added 10 rebounds. Jordan Evans went 5-of-8 from three-point range for 15 points, including nine in the second half. All-American David Chavlovich recorded 14 points, six assists and two steals. Drew Evans tallied 13 points, including eight in the second half, and seven rebounds, while Gach Gach registered 10 points.
The Dolphins opened the game with seven of the first 11 points prior to the first media timeout. Jones III had the first two and final two points in the span. West Texas A&M answered with a 15-4 run, including eight straight points on the back end, to take its largest lead of the first half. Quaid scored seven points around a jumper by Chavlovich for a 13-11 lead and then Gach andCJ Jennings drained three-pointers for a 19-11 lead with 11:59 to go.
Le Moyne responded with eight straight points of its own to even the score at 19. Rolon had a conventional three-point play, Jones III buried a three-pointer and then Eisendorf knocked down a jumper. The Buffs made four straight free throws to regain the lead and led 25-22 before Eisendorf scored five points around a jumper by Chavlovich to even the score at 27 each with 6:46 left.
The teams then traded the lead six times over the next six and one-half minutes before senior guard Tanner Hyland made a step-through running three-pointer with four seconds left to give the Dolphins a 40-38 lead at halftime.
After senior guard Anthony Richards answered a Chavlovich three-pointer with one of his own with 18:16 left to give the Dolphins a 45-43 lead, their last of the game, the Buffs scored 16 of the next 19 points to take control of the game. Jordan Evans started the run with three-pointer, Chavlovich followed with a lay-up and Quaid made a free throw for a 49-45 lead. Following a conventional three-point play by Eisendorf with 15:51 left, Jordan Collins made a three-pointer, Chavlovich converted a fast-break lay-up off a steal, Jordan Evans drained another three-pointer and Gaige Prim capped the streak with a lay-up with 13:39 left.
The Dolphins answered with seven straight points to get within 59-55 with 11:33 left. Junior guard C.J. Asuncion-Byrd made a lay-up and then senior forward Daniel Kaigler followed with a conventional three-point play and two more free throws. The Buffs countered with a 16-4 run to put the game away. Gach had a conventional three-point play and a jumper around a Quaid lay-up, Drew Evans scored four straight points, Jennings made two free throws and Jordan Evans capped the streak with a three-pointer for West Texas A&M's largest lead of the game, 75-59, with 5:22 to go.
The Dolphins answered with 10 of the next 14 points to get within 10 with 1:45 to play. After a jumper by senior guard Tyree Chambers and two free throws by senior guard Russell Sangster, Rolon and Jones III drained three-pointers on back-to-back possessions. Drew Evans (4), Quaid (2) and Gach (2) went 8-for-8 at the foul line over the final 1:37 to close out the game. Rolon and Sangster each made shots for the Dolphins to complete the game's scoring.
- Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at Le Moyne
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