The inaugural game of Lone Star Conference Championship in Allen, which was also the first-ever basketball game at the Allen Event Center, had a West Texas A&M flavor from start to finish.

The third-seeded Buffaloes kicked off the tournament with an impressive 80-47 win over Eastern New Mexico Wednesday afternoon in the first of four quarterfinal games of the day. The Buffs advance to Friday night’s semifinal round against the winner of Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Kingsville.

West Texas A&M improved to 19-7 while the Greyhounds’ season ends at 14-14.

Playing without junior guard Kennon Washington, who recently suffered a torn Achilles injury and will miss the remainder of the year, the Buffaloes used a 13-0 run midway through the first half and never looked back.

Picking up the slack for Washington, an honorable mention All-LSC pick who suffered the injury in Saturday’s regular-season finale loss to Cameron, the Buffaloes used a balanced attack of scoring, led by Courtney Carr who had 20 points. Carr made all nine shots from the field, including both free-throw attempts for a perfect game of shooting.

Desmond Sims scored 12 points for the Buffs while Lionel Foster added 10 points and nine assists.

The Buffs scorched the nets for 62 percent shooting, including 5-of-12 from 3-point land. The Greyhounds, on the other hand, shot 31 percent (16-52) from the floor.

                ENMU senior guard Reggie Nelson, a first-team All-LSC pick, scored just four points, struggling from the field most of the day shooting just 1-of-9 from the floor. Devone Davis led the Greyhounds with 13 points.

The Buffaloes, currently ranked seventh in the latest South Central Regional rankings, would prefer to keep winning and claim the NCAA tournament’s automatic qualifying spot with an LSC Championship title this weekend. But a win here in Allen could strengthen the Buffs’ standings in the region, which takes the top eight teams to the regional tournament.

For updates throughout the LSC Championships, follow @lonestarconf on twitter.

· The 33-point victory for West Texas A&M was its second-largest of the season, second only to a 94-52 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State. It was the largest victory over a Lone Star Conference opponent, besting a 29-point win over Texas A&M-Kingsville (69-40).

· West Texas A&M closed out the first half on a 29-8 run, spanning the last 13:09. The Buffs used a 13-0 run to start the run, spanning five and a half minutes.

· The 21-point lead by West Texas at the half was the largest against its rival this season, besting a 20-point margin in the first half of the game against the Greyhounds in Canyon on January 18. The Buffs would extend that advantage to as many as 34 (three separate occasions) in the second half.

· West Texas A&M shot 61.5 percent from the floor in the first half (16-of-26), with 28 of their first 33 points coming in the paint. The Buffs shot 60.4 percent for the game, their third-highest total of the season and best against an LSC opponent.

· West Texas A&M’s 77.3 percent from the free throw line was the second-highest of the season, second only to an 80.6 showing against Midwestern State.

· Courtney Carr finished with 20 points, one shy of his career-high against UT-Permian Basin.

· West Texas A&M improves to 31-13 in Lone Star Conference tournament play, holding the record for most tournament victories and ranking second in winning percentage (.705). They are one of only two teams (Midwestern State - .750) to boast a winning percentage above .700 in the tournament.

·This is the second game in Eastern New Mexico's history to take place on February 29th, making the Greyhounds 0-2 all time in games played on the extra, Leap Year day. The other game was a 78-62 loss to New Mexico State in 1965.

·The Greyhounds and Buffaloes split the regular season series with both teams winning at home and both games being decided by a combined 5 points (ENMU won, 68-66, on January 21st; WT won, 71-68, on January 18th).

·Eastern New Mexico has lost its last five Lone Star Conference Championship games, dating back to a loss to Tarleton State on March 3rd, 2003 (2012, 2011, 2006, 2004 and 2003).

·At 00:59, Eastern NM fell behind by 21 points on a 3-point shot, 39-18, which surpassed the largest deficit that the Greyhounds have faced against West Texas A&M in the 2011-12 regular season with 20 points. ENMU would fall behind by as much as 34 points at 3:50 in the second half.

·West Texas ended the game with a 60.4 field goal percentage, second-best against the Greyhounds all season. The best opposing field goal percentage against the Greyhounds had been .609 (28-of-46) by Texas A&M-Commerce on January 7th, 2012.

·ENMU's worst loss of the season was a 22-point defeat on the road against Long Beach State on December 19th, 2011, 76-55. West Texas defeated ENMU by 33.

·The lowest number of points scored by the Greyhounds in a loss this season was 52 points in a defeat at home to Tarleton State, 55-52, on January 4th, 2012. West Texas held ENMU to 47

·ENMU's Reggie Nelson is the only Greyhound to score in double digits against West Texas A&M in all three games this season with his 15 (12 on 1/18/12 and 13 on 1/21/12).

“I’m very, very proud of the way we played today. It was a great team effort. We had to play well defensively against a great offensive team and we did that.”

“I have to credit our seniors. They stepped up for us. It was a good win.”

“We knew we had to play hard against Eastern. We played good team defense. It’s that time of the year where one loss and you’re done. We’ve got to come ready to play every game and we did.”

“As a coach of a good team there comes a time when you have to just give it to the seniors. They have to take it over. They did a great job today.”

“It was great to have Keenan here today. He got a ride down here after surgery yesterday to cheer his guys on. That’s special. That was really good.”

“We had a team meeting on the bus after the Cameron game and I told everybody that we had to step it up. Everyone had to do more and play with confidence.”

“We were taking great shots today and the best way to start a good defensive possession is to have the other team take the ball out of the net. And we did that today. We’ll be especially challenged to do that on Friday.”

“It wasn’t our night. As a coach, I wish I could have done things differently. Obviously we had the big win against Cameron. I thought we battled with Midwestern. We just didn’t play well tonight at all. I give credit to West Texas. I thought they played and coached well.”

“We really tried to do some things differently early in the game, as far as guarding. We didn’t do very well. We weren’t as aggressive as we needed to be. (Lionel) Foster played well. He did a lot to get Carr and Simms involved early in the game.”

“Second half we had to chase them and couldn’t play how we ordinarily play.”

“Even though it was tight first 7 or 8 minutes, we didn’t play well tonight. I’m not sure exactly when it got away. When it was 10-10 they went on a run. We just missed some shots we normally make.”

“In fairness to Reggie, he had one of the best senior years in school History. A lot of his game is getting in the lane and making plays.”

“They didn’t have their leading scorer and best guard on the court. I think they just played well as a team.”

“It (WT’s post presence) affected me a lot. I wish we could do it all over again.”