Canyon, Texas

Andre Hill made a lay up with 0.2 seconds remaining to lead host West Texas A&M to an 82-80 win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament in Canyon, Texas.

The loss ends the season for the Lions, who finish with a 14-14 overall mark. In the loss, four Texas A&M-Commerce had four players in double figures with junior guard Kevin Widemond scoring a team-high 24 points. He was joined in double digits by Lamar Searight, who added 14, Leonard Bishop scored 12 and Champ Sylvester poured in 11.

West Texas A&M (18-9) had three players in double figures including LSC South Division Player of the Year Damien Lolar, who scored a game-high 28 points. He was joined by Chris Hinz, who scored 23 and Kevin Green added 14.

The game's opening 20 minutes was a tightly contested back and forth affair with nine lead changes, six ties and neither team leading hold a lead of more than six points as WTAMU held a slight 38-37 advantage at the intermission. The Lions hit 46.4% of their shots in the first half and seven of their 13 field goals were three pointers. Widemond led all scorers with 15 points in the first 20 minutes. The Buffaloes hit 55.6% of their shots and outscored the Lions by a 20-4 margin on points in the paint.

In the second half, the Lions managed to take a lead as large as 12 with 10:08 left in the contest. However, the Buffaloes did not go away and worked their way back. After the Lions had built up a 10-point advantage, 73-63, with 6:30 left in the game. The Buffaloes scored 19 of the final 26 points of the contest in the win.

Trailing 80-77 with 11 seconds left in the game, Bishop tied the contest at 80 on a three pointer with five seconds left. With the game tied for the ninth time, Green found Hill for the game-winning layup with 0.2 seconds for the victory.

The Buffs now advance to Friday's semifinal round where they take on Southeastern Oklahoma, who beat Texas A&M-Kingsville 88-72 in the first round. The semifinal and final rounds will be hosted by Midwestern State.