CANYON – It’s often debated whether hosting the NCAA Division II South Central Regional is a blessing or a curse. Mark one down in the blessing category for West Texas A&M. The Buffs used fuel provided by the 2,568 in attendance to overcome a halftime deficit and defeat Colorado Mesa 88-76 Tuesday night.

The Buffs advance to the Elite Eight for the fifth time in program history, and the fourth time in WT head coach Tom Brown’s 10 seasons at the helm. The Elite Eight begins March 26 in Evansville, Indiana. All eight regional champions will be reseeded.

“Our guys just persevered and never gave up,”  Brown said. “We’ve seen so many crazy things that we constantly talk about keeping our heads level and then celebrate after the game. We weren’t comfortable even when we were up by 10 with 30 seconds left.”

Seniors Larry Wise and Zach Touissant led the charge in the second half. Wise, the Lone Star Conference Player of the Year and South Central Regional Most Valuable Player, scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the second half while battling an ankle injury. Toussaint scored 14 of his 17 points in the deciding half.

“I don’t know how Wise was able to play like that in the second half with his ankle,” CMU head coach Mike DeGeorge said. “I told him after the game that I don’t know if I’ve witnessed a performance like that the way he was hurting. It was incredible.”

“My personal goal this year is to win the national championship. Since I’ve come to WT, we’ve lost in the second round and the Sweet 16 last year,” Wise said. We just have to do whatever it takes to win.”

WT struggled in front of a near-capacity crowd in the first half. However, a non-call on what the Buffs’ faithful thought was a goaltending fired up the crowd near the end of the first half. After the halftime buzzer, the crowd serenaded the officials with their opinions, and that energy carried over to the second half. WT scored an incredible 61 points in the second half.

At one point in the second half, a parade of males, from youth to football players, took off their shirts and ran around, getting the crowd riled up. The raucous environment worked in the Buffs' favor on Tuesday.

“I love when we can get some older people to start yelling,” Wise said. “There was some wild stuff out there, and it definitely helped us out. Hopefully, they can get home safely.”

“I noticed the fans running around (without a shirt on), and it was amazing,” Touissant added. “We appreciate every single one of them. It was great stuff for the last home game of my career.”