LAS VEGAS – Zach Toussaint arced a floating jump shot through the net as time expired on Friday afternoon at South Point Arena, giving No. 4 West Texas A&M University a buzzer-beating 59-57 win over the Montana State University Billings men's basketball team in the opening game of the Holiday Hoops Classic.
 
Toussaint's dramatic shot – which prompted a mob by his Buffs teammates as they won their seventh straight game – came moments after MSUB's Damen Thacker knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer in transition to knot the score at 57-57. The senior's biggest shot of the game left WTAMU with less than five seconds to take the ball the length of the court, but Toussaint got it off in the nick of time to hand the Yellowjackets another heartbreaking defeat.
 
"We knew we had to defend and rebound to give ourselves a chance, and we did," said MSUB head coach Mick Durham. "We got off to a great start and set a good tone for the game. Damen hit a huge three to tie it, but unfortunately their kid hit the shot to win it for them."
 
The Buffs – who never led by more than four points throughout the game – improved to 12-1 on the season while preventing the upset. Toussaint led all players with 16 points, while adding five rebounds and two assists. Larry Wise added 15 points and Hayden Blankley approached a double-double with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Nicholas Sebastiao led the Yellowjackets with 15 points, making 4 of 6 field goals all from 3-point range. The second-year freshman added 3 of 4 free throws to reach his season high in scoring, while grabbing three rebounds as well. Thacker finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while going 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. The Yellowjackets slipped to 4-7 on the season with the defeat.
 
A 16-0 burst by the 'Jackets gave them the advantage early on, as Sebastiao's first trey of the afternoon kick-started the rally. The Buffs endured a scoreless drought that lasted eight minutes, during which they went 0-for-13 until Wise finally ended the slump with a jumper at the 9:58 mark.
 
By then, MSUB had constructed an 18-5 lead capped off on a three-point play by Thacker. Sebastiao responded to a trey by Toussaint with his third of the half, upping the Yellowjackets' advantage to 26-16 with 5:51 to go before halftime. The Buffs put together a rally for the rest of the period however, and by halftime it was a one-possession game with MSUB leading 32-29.
 
A strong dunk by Emmanuel Ajanaku – who finished just shy of double figures with nine points – followed by another three from Sebastiao helped MSUB maintain the advantage up 41-34 midway through the second half. WTAMU made its move over the next four minutes of action however, embarking on a 7-0 run to pull the score even.
 
Wise scored the Buffs' next seven points, capping the momentum-swinging burst with a 3-pointer to give his team its largest lead of the game at 50-46 with 4:17 to go. Despite brining the score to a single point three times, and Thacker tying it with seven seconds to go, the Yellowjackets never led again as the Buffs tip-toed off the court with the victory.
 
MSUB shot 42.2 percent in the game (19-for-45), while making 8 of 20 threes (40.0 percent) and 11 of 15 free throws (73.3 percent). WTAMU won despite shooting just 29.5 percent (18-for-61) including 23.5 percent from 3-point range (8-for-34). The Buffs took advantage of their trips to the line, making 15 of 17 free throws (88.2 percent). "We left a couple of points at the free-throw line late which hurt, but I am proud of our effort against a really good team. We didn't back down one bit."
 
The tightly-contested affair featured an even 36-36 line on rebounds, and MSUB had 13 turnovers while WTAMU limited itself to just eight giveaways. The Yellowjackets had 19 points off the bench, with Bilal Shabazz chipping in eight to go along with Ajanaku's nine. Carrington Wiggins matched Thacker and Ajanaku with a team-high seven rebounds, and Malik Brikat had seven points and five boards in his 19 minutes of work.
 
THE BUZZ: Sebastiao was selected as the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game…MSUB is now 0-2 all-time against West Texas A&M, with Friday marking the first meeting since 1983.
 
NEXT UP: The 'Jackets face a quick turnaround, taking on Rollins College on Saturday at noon Pacific/1 p.m. Mountain time in their final non-conference game of the year. Live coverage for Saturday's matchup will be available online here.