THE RUNDOWN
CANYON, Texas — David Chavlovich poured in 30 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out six assists to lead West Texas A&M past Midwestern State 80-74 Saturday afternoon at the First United Bank Center.

The reigning Lone Star Conference Player of the Year banged in two of his three treys in the first half on WT's first two possessions then attacked the paint for the remainder of the contest both off of the dribble and off the glass as the Buffs overcame an 11-point second-half deficit.

Midwestern State lost its fifth straight game and has now dropped seven of the last eight contests to fall to 13-10 on the season and to 6-9 in LSC play. Only one game during the stretch — a 21-point win over Texas A&M-Commerce — has been decided by more than nine points.

The Mustangs closed the first half on a 7-2 run to lead 40-34 at the half after Pat Smith hit a 3-ball from the right wing 27 seconds before the end of the half.

MSU scored the first five points of the second half to push the advantage to 45-34 after B.J. Jenkins canned a 3-pointer from right corner at the 19:07 mark.

West Texas A&M answered with a 26-6 run over the next 8:12 to take a game-high, nine-point lead at 60-51 after Eric Golightly canned a pair of free throws with 10:55 to play.

Midwestern State clawed back to within two on a couple of occasions and were within 67-65 when Smith buried his third triple with 4:54 to go.

But Golightly buried a dagger 3-pointer from the corner on WT's next possession and senior center Skyler O'Laughlin slammed down one his five dunks on the next possession to push the Buffs' lead back out to seven. That was the last time the Mustangs were within a possession.

West Texas A&M extended its winning streak to 19 games at the First United Bank Center while improving to 21-6 and 9-5.

NOTES
- Midwestern State (6-9) maintains a 1 1/2-game lead over idle Eastern New Mexico (4-10) for the eighth and final spot in the next month's Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament.
- MSU last lost five consecutive Lone Star Conference games in 2002-03.
- With the doubleheader sweep, West Texas A&M takes an 8-6 lead in Highway 287 Challenge Cup play.
- Ten of MSU's 11 losses have come by single digits and four have been by five-or-fewer points. The Mustangs' lone double-digit defeat came 72-61 at Texas A&M-Commerce.
- Midwestern State permitted an opponent season high of 30 points to David Chavlovich. It was the first time an MSU squad allowed an opponent to score 30 points since Angelo State's Ridge McKeither scored 32 on Jan. 12, 2011. Chavlovich's previous high against MSU was 25 last season in Canyon.
- Junior guard Brandon Neel delivered his second consecutive 20-point effort finishing with a team-high 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting with two 3-pointers. Neel matched a season-high with 22 points Thursday at UT-Permian Basin after notching the same output with 13 rebounds the first time through against the Falcons.
- Senior forward Magnus Richards notched his 11th double-figure scoring output of the season with 16 points and eight rebounds.
- Senior guard Pat Smith has knocked down three triples in four of his last five games. He also dished out seven assists Saturday against West Texas A&M.
- Junior guard Shawn Nottingham has at least two steals in 10 of his last 11 games.

STAT OF THE GAME
26-6  — West Texas A&M put together a 26-6 run over an 8-minute stretch in the second half after MSU scored the first five points of the second half to take an 11-point lead.

UP NEXT
Midwestern State plays host to Eastern New Mexico Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.