A&M-Commerce | Men’s Basketball
COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team notched its highest scoring output so far this season, earning an 86-78 win over No. 12 St. Edward's University in the Field House on Saturday night.
The win brings the Lions back to an even record at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Lone Star Conference entering an extended break from action.
The Lions are away from competition for the next 13 days, next playing the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma at home Friday, Dec. 6.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
A&M-Commerce made 8-of-12 three pointers
(66.7%) in the second half and 13-of-23 (56.5%) overall in the period.
Five Lions scored in double figures, led by 24 points from Deon Barrett (Lancaster) off the bench. The guard also had seven rebounds and seven assists with four made three-pointers.
Austin Grand-staff (Rockwall) also excelled off the bench, making 6-of-8 three-pointers on the way to 19 points and five rebounds.
Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) was extremely active in the game, picking up seven steals for a school record and tying the LSC high this season. He also had 12 points and four assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
St. Edward's started the game on fire, as the visitors rushed out to a 14-3 lead in the first four and a half minutes with Spears making three three-pointers in the early going. That lead would extend to 13 points with 10 minutes to play in the period when Spears scored his 15th point of the night.
The Lions responded with a 13-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the game. Grandstaff canned triples on consecutive possessions to knot the game up at 23-all with 7:06 left in the first half. Another eight-point run facilitated by three-pointers from Alex Peavy (Smithson Valley) and Barrett gave the Lions their first lead of more than one possession at 33-27 with just under three minutes left in the period. A&M-Commerce took a 36-34 lead into the halftime break.
With the narrow margin against the high-scoring Hilltoppers, the Lions needed to hit shots at a high clip to stay in front.
Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) and Wright hit three-pointers on the Lions' opening two possessions of the second half and a pair of field goals by Terrell in succession gave the Lions made baskets on their first four attempts of the period. SEU went on a five-point run to narrow the margin to one point at 49-48 with 15:23 to play, but Grandstff hit consecutive three-pointers off of Barrett assists to push the lead back to seven points at 55-48 with 13:29 to go.
St. Ed's tied the game up with 12:05 to go, but this seemed only to spur the Lions on. Isaiah Wiggins (Harlem, N.Y.) and Terrell each converted steals into points to kick-start a 15-3 rally. Barrett and Grandstaff closed the run with three-pointers on consecutive possessions, and A&M-Commerce went ahead 70-58 with five minutes to play.
While momentum had shifted in TAMUC's favor, the Hilltoppers weren't done. A five-point run by the guests cut the lead to four points at 74-70 with three minutes to go. The Lions ensured the victory by making key shots at the charity stripe. A Wright breakaway dunk after a press break was the Lions' only field goal attempt in the final 2:45 of action, and A&M-Commerce made 10-of-12 free throws in the final stages to earn the big win.