A&M Commerce | Boys Basketball
STEPHENVILLE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team lost a hard-fought 94-91 game against Tarleton on Saturday. The Lions had a chance to tie the game late but could not get their final shot to fall to extend action.
The loss brings the Lion to 7-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Lone Star Conference. The Texans improve to 5-6 on the year and 1-4 in conference play.
The Lions now enter the holiday break, and will return to action on January 2 as they host Cameron. The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. at the Field House in Commerce.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
• Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the Lions with 25 points, shooting 11-of-13 from the field. He had 20 points in the first half, shooting a perfect 9-of-9.
• Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) scored 24 points, including nine points from beyond the arc. He scored 20 points in the second half.
• Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall) had 17 points, all of which came in the second half.
• The Lions again had a hot shooting night, shooting 59.6 percent from the field. TSU shot 57.1 percent.
• TSU shot 26 free throws in the game, while the Lions shot just 13 in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams started hot from the field, as the teams were tied 10-all early. Alex Peavy (San Antonio - Smithson Valley) hit a pair of early threes to spark the Lions, and Deon Barrett (Dallas - Lancaster) hit two floaters in the lane.
TSU then went on a big run, canning 12 points in a row and eventually pushing their lead to 27-12. The Lions then turned to Stewart to find a spark, and he helped the team go on a 15-0 run to tie the game at 27. Stewart had nine points in a row and scored 12 of those 15 points. At the nine minute mark, the game was tied.
The Lions briefly held their first lead of the game as Stewart continued to shoot lights out. The Lions led 38-35 with six minutes remaining. TSU went on a run to regain the lead, leading by six with a minute to go. However, the Lions scored the final four points of the half to go into halftime trailing 47-45.
Stewart scored 20 points in the first half, making all nine of his shots. The Lions shot 58 percent in the first half, including 50 percent from beyond the arc.
TSU pushed their lead to seven points early in the half before the Lions started a run. Grandstaff hit a pair of threes in a row to cut the lead to just one point.
Along with Grandstaff, Terrell also found his stroke in the second half, scoring 14 points in a row at one point for the Lions as they reversed the score and took the lead. Midway through the half, the Lions led by five.
Terrell and Grandstaff continued to push the Lions forward late, as the Lions hit two threes in a row to lead by as many as seven. TSU slowly chipped away at the lead, and regained it with five minutes to play. The Lions found themselves trailing by seven in the final two minutes, but did not give up their fight. Stewart had a bucket and Grandstaff was fouled on a three pointer with five second to go, with the opportunity to tie the game. He made two of his three free throws, prompting the Lions to foul. After TSU hit both of their shots, the Lions had one final chance to extend the game. However, a long three went off the iron and the Lions ran out of time.