TAMUC – Sports

 

Willie Rooks

MEN’S BASKETBALL

No. 18 Lions pile on A&M-Kingsville in second-half to cruise to the 73-62 win.

COMMERCE– The 18th-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team defeated Texas A&M University-Kingsville 73-48 on Thursday. The Lions shot 49 percent from the field and scored half of their points in the paint.

The win brings the Lions to 12-1 on the season and 5-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Javelinas fall to 9-5 on the year and 2-2 in conference play.

The Lions will face Angelo State on Saturday in the second game of the Lions’ three-game homestand. The game will be at 4:00 p.m. at the Field House.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Willie Rooks led the Lions with 19 points, shooting 7-of-11 in the game.
– Reggie Reid had 16 points and pulled in six rebounds to go with three assists.
– Aaron Horne had 11 points in the game, including two monster dunks in the second half.
– Dorian Armstrong had seven points and led the team with eight rebounds.
– The Lions shot 49 percent from the field and scored 36 points in the paint.
– A&M-Commerce scored 17 points off of 14 Javelina turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a battle back and forth for the first nine minutes of the game as there were seven lead changes in the early minutes. Five different Lions all got on the board early in the contest as multiple players made the extra pass to find open shooters. A layup from Rooks tied the game at ten after five minutes of play.

Rooks hit a three and Horne had a layup as the Lions went on a mini-run to take a five-point lead. The Lions built the lead to six before the Javelinas went on a 7-0 run to take the lead with 11 minutes left in half. A&M-Kingsville held a two-point lead at the midpoint of the half.

The Lions then went on a run, scoring 11 points in a row, including two buckets from Horne. Reid then had a three-point play as the Lions took a double-digit lead with just under three minutes left in half. Reid had another bucket in the paint late, and the Lions took a 41-31 lead into halftime.

Rooks had 12 points in the first half, shooting 5-of-8 from the field. Reid had eight points and a pair of assists while Horne had seven points. Armstrong had seven rebounds in the first half.

The Lions maintained their lead, leading by 11 with 13 minutes to play before going on a big run to put the game far out of reach. The Lions scored 14 of the next 15 points to take a 22-point lead. The field was capped with a thunderous dunk from Horne, giving A&M-Commerce the 67-45 advantage with 7:42 to play in the game.

Horne had another dunk two minutes later, and the Lions entered their reserves in the final minutes. The Javelinas cut into the lead with late long distance shooting, but the game was never in doubt, and the Lions cruised to the double-digit victory.

 

Artaejah Gay

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Unrelenting Lions defeat A&M-Kingsville 63-48 with strong inside presence.

COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball defeated Texas A&M University-Kingsville 63-48 on Thursday. The Lions dominated the paint area and did not trail in the second half.

The win brings the Lions to 7-5 on the season and 4-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Javelinas fall to 3-10 on the year and 0-5 in conference play.

The Lions will face Angelo State on Saturday in the second game of the Lions’ three-game homestand. The game will be at 2:00 p.m. at the Field House.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Artaejah Gay led the Lions with 17 points, 12 of which came in the first half. She was 8-for-11 in the game.
– Melanie Ransom scored 14 points, also scoring 12 in the first half. She had a pair of three-pointers and pulled in six rebounds.
– Princess Davis had eight points and four assists. She also had three steals and three rebounds.
– Brianna Wise had nine points and led the team with seven rebounds.
– The Lions scored more than half of their points inside the paint. The Lions had 32 points in the paint, as well as 22 points off of turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded buckets in an evenly matched first quarter. Gay had back-to-back buckets inside the paint. Ransom had consecutive offensive rebounds as well, scoring a layup on a putback attempt. The game tied at eight midway through the first quarter. Gay scored another layup in the quarter and Davis scored the first and final points of the quarter as the game tied at 12 after one.

The Lions continued to attack the paint area in the second quarter. Gay and Ransom each had a layup in the early minutes as the Lions scored the first six points of the quarter. Gay scored six initial points in the quarter before Ransom hit a three to give the Lions a nine-point lead.

The Javelinas then went on a 7-0 run to cut the Lion lead down to just two points. The Lions responded with a 6-0 run of their own and Ransom hit a three late in the quarter to give A&M-Commerce a 33-25 lead at halftime. Ransom and Gay both had 12 points in the first half. Davis added four points and four assists.

The lead hovered at eight points through the first part of the third quarter before a three-pointer from Wise following a three-pointer from Alex Nance. The Lions held a 12-point lead with 3:49 left in the third quarter. The Javelinas cut the lead down to seven before A&M-Commerce scored the final four points of the quarter to take a 47-36 lead into the last quarter.

Wise scored six points in the final quarter as the Lions built their lead to the largest of the game. A three from Gay gave A&M-Commerce an 18-point lead midway through the fourth. The Lion reserves finished the game well, and A&M-Commerce ended with the 15-point win.

 

Colby Carthel

Texas A&M University-Commerce extends the contract of Head Football Coach Colby Carthel through 2021.

COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce President Dr. Ray Keck and Director of Athletics Tim McMurray announced Wednesday a contract extension for Head Football Coach Colby Carthel. The extension secures Carthel as Lions’ head coach through the 2021 season.

“Colby Carthel’s leadership of our football program has transformed our institution in ways we have never experienced,” Keck noted. “To celebrate a national championship has our fine institution in a state of euphoria. This extension is a reflection of not just Colby as a football coach, but as a transformational leader of men.”

Carthel has been the head coach of the Lions for five seasons, with a continued progression of success in each year, earning a record of 47-14, and winning the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship.

The Lions became the first team in Division II football history to claim the “Triple Crown” of the National Championship, the Harlon Hill Trophy (Luis Perez), and the NCAA Elite 90 Award (Garrett Blubaugh). A&M-Commerce defeated West Florida 37-27 in the National Championship Game in Kansas City.

The Lions have made the postseason in each of Carthel’s five seasons, qualifying for the NCAA Division II playoffs for three consecutive years.

The Lions have also been victorious in the classroom and the community. Nearly 70 football student-athletes were named to honor rolls in the fall 2017 semester. The Lions have also continued to increase their community service and engagement activities, including over 400 hours of service in Port Aransas cleaning up from Hurricane Harvey in Port Aransas following the victory over Texas A&M-Kingsville.

“Watching Colby embrace that national championship trophy last month was emotional,” said McMurray. “He and his coaching staff exemplify our “Best in Class” mission throughout every phase of our program. It is a privilege to steward their success. Through the generous support of Lion Champions Fund donors and our Best in Class administration, we continue to identify and generate resources that provide continuity and opportunities for these stellar student-athletes and coaches.”

The Lions recently completed the 2017 National Championship season with a record of 14-1 overall and 7-1 in the Lone Star Conference. A&M-Commerce won three straight road games in the playoffs as Super Region Four’s fifth seed. The three teams they defeated on the road came into the games with a combined record of 34-1, marking the most terrible route to a national semifinal in Division II history. The Lions then defeated Harding 31-17 at home in the national semifinals in front of a record crowd of 10,120. The Lions finished third in the nation in cumulative attendance and fifth in the nation in average attendance, as 8,580 fans per game turned out to support the national champions.

In his five seasons in Commerce, Carthel has mentored 126 all-Lone Star Conference selections and 16 All-Americans to date. Carthel is the only coach in school history to lead the Lions to five straight postseason berths.

“What an honor it is to continue to serve this prestigious program,” Carthel said. “Our administration continues to commit building A&M-Commerce into the premier football program in Division II, and I’m excited to help lead in that endeavor. While we have accomplished so much in the past five years, it’s exciting to know our best days are still ahead of us.”

Season ticket opportunities for 2018 will be announced later this month.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Texas A&M Commerce Women’s Basketball – Texas A&M-Commerce vs. A&M-Kingsville – January 4, 2018
The Field House in Commerce, Texas
Final Score: Tex. A&M-Kingsville 48 at A&M-Commerce 63

Final stats can be downloaded in PDF, HTML and XML formats using the URLs below:

PDF – http://archive.statbroadcast.com/182875.pdf
HTML – http://archive.statbroadcast.com/182875.html
XML – http://archive.statbroadcast.com/182875.xml
If you have any additional needs or questions, please direct them to Texas A&M Commerce.

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Texas A&M Commerce Mens Basketball – Texas A&M-Commerce vs. A&M-Kingsville – January 4, 2018
The Field House Commerce, Texas
Final Score: Tex. A&M-Kingsville 62 at A&M-Commerce 73

Final stats can be downloaded in PDF, HTML and XML formats using the URLs below:

PDF – http://archive.statbroadcast.com/182887.pdf
HTML – http://archive.statbroadcast.com/182887.html
XML – http://archive.statbroadcast.com/182887.xml
If you have any additional needs or questions, please direct them to Texas A&M Commerce.