LSC Roundup 1-13

Recruiting Center

Men's Basketball News
Midwestern moves up two spots to No. 7 in NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll

Buffs, Lady Buffs set for division play
With Lone Star Conference South Division play opening tonight, West Texas A&M men's basketball coach Rick Cooper is focused on his team.

Not on Midwestern State and that gaudy 14-0 record. Not on Tarleton State having run off seven straight wins entering South play. And not on Texas A&M-Kingsville with 10 wins and a defense that ranks second in the conference, allowing 64,5 points per game.

"It's on our team," said Cooper, who has led the WT program for 17 years. "Basketball is a little different than other sports. For instance, in football when those guys wake up on Sunday they know who that one team is they are playing next. In basketball, you have to prepare for so many different opponents, the smart thing to do is focus in on yourself and figure out what you do best and the identity you want to have and that makes you the most successful."

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: ASU enters league play with confidence
Both the Angelo State University men’s and women’s basketball teams went into last weekend’s two-game road trip in Oklahoma riding their longest losing streaks of the season. The Rambelles had lost four straight going into last Thursday’s game at East Central (Okla.). The Rams had dropped three in a row going into their matchup with the Tigers.

Both teams needed wins to get back on track and go into Lone Star Conference South Division play with some momentum.

Both teams got those needed victories.

Women's Basketball News

WT takes 10-game streak into tonight's South opener - Coaches like to call it the second season. If that is the case, the 12th-ranked West Texas A&M Lady Buffs hope to extend their 10-game win streak into Lone Star Conference South Division play at 6 p.m. today when they host a Texas A&M-Kingsville team that has won 12 of its 15 games.

The Lady Buffs were a prohibitive favorite to win their fifth straight South Division title in a preseason poll of coaches, sports information directors and media representatives. A&M-Kingsville was picked fifth but has the third-best record and ranks first in the conference in scoring and fourth in defense.

Recruiting News
Lawrence Syon to visit Eastern New Mexico on the 27th.

Football News

Comeback kid: Franklin graduate Scott Grantham finds success at Division II school - EL PASO -- People hear the stories time and again, how too many El Paso athletes leave for college, only to have their dreams cut short either by themselves or by fate. Occasionally, though, there are the good stories, those examples of perseverance and triumph. That's where Scott Grantham falls in line.

Once a Division I football signee, the former El Pasoan went from almost being out of college football completely to being a vital playmaker at Tarleton State University.

"Scott was a three-year starter for us and has set numerous records here at Tarleton and led us two rounds deep into the Division II playoffs in (2009)," Texans head coach Sam McElroy said. "He was a captain and a tremendous player for us."

Soccer News
Webb handed reins of Lady Buffs soccer - While a different coach will lead the West Texas A&M women's soccer squad next season, the face is a familiar one.