BARTLESVILLE, Okla. –  Vinicius Telo, who garnered All-Lone Star Conference Honorable Mention team accolades earlier in the week, poured in 26 points, a career-high, and pulled down nine boards but it wasn’t enough as the Cameron Aggies (17-11) ended their season in Bartlesville, falling to LSC South foe West Texas A&M (23-5) 75-59 at Bruin Field House on Thursday.

The Aggies entered the game as the No. 3 seed from the LSC North while West Texas A&M was the No. 2 seed out of the LSC South. It was the second time this season the Buffs, who now hold a 26-7 advantage in the series, topped the Ags after pulling out a 75-67 overtime decision on Dec. 2 in Canyon.

Dylan Gilliam also went into double figures, tallying 11 points, and combined with Telo to provide 37 points off the bench for the Aggies. The Buffs put four of five starters into double figures and were led by LaDarius Hall with 19.

For the Aggies, it was a tale of two halves as they were outscored 44-26 in the second half.

“We came out and executed our game plan in the first half,” said Head Coach Wade Alexander. “But, we didn’t rebound or defend well in the second half. They got away from us. However, I think it was a type of game that the score doesn’t indicate just how close of a game it was.”

Lionel Foster got it going right away with a pair of charity tosses at 19:44 to make it 2-0. Rod Little added another two to give the Buffs an early 4-0 lead after the Ags found themselves owners of a pair of blocking fouls.

Terry Dawson put the Ags on the board with 17:45 to go with a ten-foot jumper, making it 4-2.

Gilliam sank a triple to cut the lead to 6-5, but a pair of back-to-back treys pushed the Buffs lead to 12-5 with 15:40 left to go.
 
At the first media timeout, the Aggies had combined to shoot just 2-of-8 (25 percent) from the floor including 1 of 5 (20 percent) from three-point territory.

A 7-0 West Texas run was snapped with Telo’s turn-around bank shot at 13:35 to make it 13-7.

The Aggies responded with a 7-0 run of their own, another Telo runner and a Henry dunk followed by a successful three-point play conversion, to bring the deficit back to just one, 13-12.

At 8:54, Telo sank his first trey of the game to knot it up at 17-all. And after a West Texas runner fell in, Gilliam gave the Aggies their first lead of the game at 20-19 with a quick three-pointer.

West Texas re-gained the lead on a 6-0 run highlighted by a pair of back door passes to Little and Hall to go up 28-23 with 4:50 to go.

A Telo basket from the line cut the deficit to two at 30-28, but the Aggies, who lead the LSC in free throw shooting percentage, missed their first free throw with 3:27 to go.

Gilliam again put the Aggies on top with another long range shot, making it 31-30.

At the half, the Aggies led 33-31 on a strong first half performance from Telo who posted 17 points and pulled down six rebounds. It was the largest scoring output from an Aggie in a half this season, topping Gilliam’s 15-point first half against Texas A&M-Commerce on Feb. 19 and All-LSC North First Team member Milton Garner’s 15-point first half against the Buffs in their first game this season.

The Aggies were outrebounded 27-17 in the first half but came up with 26 points off the bench to just three for the Buffs. From the floor, they connected on 11 of 32 shoots (34.4 percent) and were 7 of 8 (87.5 percent) from the line. On the other side of the court, the Buffs were 9 of 24 shooting from the field (37.5 percent) and 11 of 14 (78.6 percent) from the line.

In the second, the Aggies jumped out to a 38-31 lead, scoring the first six points, before the Buffs ripped off nine straight of their own to make it 40-38.

Telo, working in the paint again, faded back and sank a basket of the glass to give the Aggies the lead again for the second time in the half, 41-40.

West Texas rattled off 10 straight points to take a 50-43 advantage with 7:47 to go as Mason White converted the three-point play following a Telo foul in the paint.

The Buffs pushed their lead to 12 with a Foster trey to make it 62-50 with 3:50 to go and the Aggies were unable to ever recover the lead as the Buffs matched them bucket-for-bucket down the stretch.

For the game, the Aggies were 18 of 57 (31.6 percent) from the floor and 18 of 22 (72.7 percent) from the line. West Texas finished at an even 50 percent (24 of 48) from the floor and 22 of 30 (73.3 percent) from the line.

The Buffs also won the rebound battle, 39-33, including 29-19 on the defensive glass.

It was the final game for three Cameron seniors as Nathan Murray, Gilliam, and Terry Dawson played their final game for the Black and Gold. Murray pulled down a hard fought eight rebounds.

Murray, who was a member of last season’s 0-12 LSC team, commented on the team’s improvement after the game.

“It means a lot (to be a part of that kind of turnaround). This team means a lot to me” said the Fort Worth, Texas native. “Everyone worked hard and played their roles this season and we have a lot to build on to for next season. It’s hard to talk after a loss like this though.”

The loss ends the Aggies remarkable turnaround season and marks Alexander’s second trip to the LSC Championships in three seasons at the helm. It is Cameron’s fourth consecutive loss in LSC postseason play dating back to 1993, and the Aggies are 2-7 all-time in the tournament.