Lions pick up win over Science and Arts

A&M Commerce | Men’s Basketball

COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team pulled off a convincing 103-63 win over the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma on Friday night. The Lions shot lights out throughout the game, netting a season-high scoring output.

The win brings the Lions to 4-3 on the season. The contest was an exhibition for the Drovers.

The Lions return to conference action as they travel to Tyler to face divisional foe UT Tyler. The game will be played on Dec. 14 at 4 p.m. at the Louise Herrington Patriot Center. The game will be preceded by the Lion women against the Patriots at 2 p.m.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The Lions were efficient on offense all night long, assisting on 26 of their field goals in the game. The Lions shot 53% in the game, and 45% from three.

Deon Barrett (Dallas – Lancaster) led the team with 17 points, all of which came in the first half. He also led the team with five assists.

Austin Grand-staff (Rockwall) added 14 points, including four threes in the game. Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) also had 14 points in the game.

The Lions played 14 players in the game and each one scored. A&M-Commerce scored 46 bench points in the game.

The Lions hit 18 threes in the game, and also scored 29 points off of turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED

It was a back and forth start to the game, as the teams traded buckets early on. Terrell had a pair of buckets early in the game. The Drovers were hot from the floor to begin, hitting early threes to build a slim lead.

The Lions then began to answer with some threes of their own. Alberto Moreno (Ingenio, Gran Canaria) and Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) assisted on each other’s shots as the Lions went on a 12-1 run over the next three minutes to build a large lead. The Lions upped their intensity and execution on the defensive end as well, holding the Drovers without a field goal for nearly four minutes. Midway through the half, the Lions led 26-19.

Barrett caught fire in the half to spark the Lions once again, and he hit multiple threes in the half. The Lions pushed their lead to double figures with about eight minutes left in the half, and there it stayed as A&M-Commerce was efficient on the offensive end for the remainder of the half.

The Lions shot 61% in the first half, led by 17 points from Barrett, who canned five threes. Terrell added 12 points and Grandstaff had eight. The Lions assisted on 14 of their 20 made field goals in the first half. The Lions also had 15 points off of 11 Drover turnovers in the first half.

Grandstaff had the early hot hand for the Lions as they pushed their lead to 25 points early in the second half. While the Lion shooting percentage dipped, the Lions crashed the offensive glass early in the half, extending multiple possessions as they continued to build their lead. Midway through the half, the Lions led by 24.

The lead allowed the Lions to empty the bench, allowing multiple players to have extended minutes. The Lions continued to play unselfish offense, as they assisted on nearly every made basket down the stretch. The Lions shot hot to close as they pushed their lead to 40 points to finish.