TAMUC – Sports

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Trey Conrod

Perfect shooting from Conrod aids No. 12 Lions’ 82-72 win over Tarleton State.

COMMERCE– The No. 12 Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team picked up an 82-70 win over Tarleton State on Tuesday night. The Lions built a lead in the first half and withstood two TSU runs in the second to leave with the double-digit win.

The win brings the Lions to 14-1 on the season and 7-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Texans fall to 8-7 and 4-3 in conference play.

The Lions will not play again for nine days, as their next contest will be against nationally ranked UT Permian Basin on Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. The game will be at the UTPB Gymnasium in Odessa.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Trey Conrod led the Lions with 22 points. He was a perfect 9-for-9 from the field in 18 minutes.
– Willie Rooks had 20 points, shooting 8-for-11 from the field.
– Reggie Reid had 18 points and led the team with five assists. Dorian Armstrong had nine points, six rebounds, and four assists.
– The Lions shot 59 percent from the field in the game. They shot 67 percent in the first half. A&M-Commerce shot 44 percent from three.
– The Lions scored 31 points off of 15 TSU turnovers. A&M-Commerce scored 34 points in the paint.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions opened the game hitting a three. It was a back and forth battle early as the lead changed hands multiple times. The Texans held the lead before a jumper from Armstrong gave the Lions the lead back. Both teams shot well from behind the arc early in half. A three from TSU gave them back the lead. With 11 minutes to play in half, TSU held its largest lead of five. Midway through the half, TSU led 22-17.

The Lions then started a run, scoring 11 in a row to take a six-point lead. Conrod hit a three-point play and Rooks had a three-pointer. Williams-Powell also had a three as the Lions led 28-22 with eight minutes remaining.

The Lions started to build their lead from there. After a three from TSU, the Lions went on another run, eight of the next nine points to take a double-digit lead. Armstrong had two jumpers as part of the rally, and a three from Rooks brought the edge to 37-26. Horne hit a three late, and a three-point play and another jumper from Conrod sent the Lions into halftime leading 45-31.

Conrod led the Lions with 10 points in the first half. Rooks added nine points. Reid had seven points and four assists. The Lions had 16 points off of 15 TSU turnovers in the first half. The Lions shot 67 percent from the field in the first half.

Armstrong scored early in the second half to bring the Lions’ lead to 16 points. TSU then scored six in a row to cut the lead to 10 points. It was part of an 11-2 run by the Texans to cut the Lion lead to seven points. The Lions brought their lead back up to double digits.

For the next several minutes, the Lion lead hovered at around 10 points. Conrod had a three-pointer and a layup in transition as the Lions led by 11 points with 13 minutes left in half. TSU then went on another run, cutting the Lion lead to six points at the midway point of the half.

A&M-Commerce did not falter, quickly bringing their lead back up to 13 points just three minutes later. Conrod hit another three and another layup and found Rooks for a three of his own to bring the Lion lead to 70-57 with 6:42 to play.

The Texans also kept fighting. They cut the Lion lead down to six points with 2:30 left in the game. A&M-Commerce was unfazed, scoring the next six points to bring their lead back up to 12 points with 56 seconds left in the game. TSU began to foul, and the Lions hit their free throws to go with the win.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Brianna Wise

Lions’ steady approach lifts them over Tarleton State 68-62 in Burton’s 100th game.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team picked up a 68-62 win over Tarleton State on Tuesday night. It was a back-and-forth battle all night for the Lions, who put the game away late from the free throw line.

The win brings the Lions to 9-5 on the season and 6-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The game is the 200th Lone Star Conference win in program history. The TexAnns fall to 9-6 and 3-4 in conference play.

The Lions will head out on the road for their next contest, facing Texas Woman’s University on Saturday. The game will begin at 2 p.m. at the Kitty Magee Arena in Denton.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– The game was the 100th for head coach Jason Burton. With the win, the Lion women’s basketball program has won 200 games in the Lone Star Conference.
– Brianna Wise led the Lions with 21 points. It is her seventh 20-plus point game of the season. She also had nine rebounds and five assists.
– Artaejah Gay had 13 points and eight rebounds.
– Princess Davis had 11 points and two assists. Jenna Price had five points and nine rebounds on the night.
– Melanie Ransom and London Holland had five points each. Holland’s five points all came in the fourth quarter.
– There were four ties and 15 lead changes in the game.
– The Lions overcame 27 turnovers in the game.
– The Lions had 32 points off of the bench.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams had turnovers to start the game before settling in. The Lions were held scoreless for the first three minutes of the quarter before a three from Price got the Lions on the board. Ransom also had an early three as the lead changed hands multiple times early. The game tied at six midway through the first quarter.

A three from TSU gave the TexAnns their largest lead of the quarter, but the Lions got right back in it. Agang Tac had consecutive buckets in the paint on dish assists. Davis then had a layup to give the Lions back the lead. The lead changed hands again before a late layup from Wise sent the Lions into the second quarter with a 16-15 lead.

Price opened the second quarter with a bucket as the Lions had a three-point lead. TSU answered back to tie the game at 18 with 8:20 left in half. The Lions then went on a 5-0 run to build their largest lead of the half, leading 23-18 halfway through the second quarter.

The TexAnns had consecutive buckets to keep the game close. There were multiple fouls and appearances at the free throw line for both teams late in half. The Lions took a 29-28 lead into halftime. Wise led all scorers with nine points at halftime. Price and Ransom both added five points.

There were nine lead changes in the first half. The Lions shot 50 percent in the first half while TSU shot 31 percent, including 2-of-12 from three. The Lions struggled with turnovers in the first half. They had 18 giveaways, which led to 12 TSU points.

The Lions brought their lead back up to three early in the quarter before TSU went on a 5-0 run to retake the lead with 7:34 left in the third quarter. The Lions responded with a 5-0 run of their own, with a three-pointer from Wise giving the Lions back the lead. The TexAnns battled back to take a 39-38 lead midway through the third quarter.

Gay then hit a three and layup from Jasmyn Eckerman gave A&M-Commerce a four-point lead. Davis had a three-pointer to bring the Lion lead to six points. After another TSU bucket with eight seconds in the quarter, Davis took the inbound and raced down the court. She shot a floater from just inside the free throw line which banked in and sent the Lions into the fourth quarter with a 50-44 lead.

The TexAnns hit a three to open up the final quarter. They then went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 52 with 8:37 left in the game. TSU then took the lead on a three-pointer as TSU started to heat up from deep.

Holland then came off the bench and provided a spark. She hit a three-pointer to give the Lions the lead back. It was a lead the Lions would not relinquish. On their next possession, Holland had a layup on a fast break steal and the Lions led by four. Halfway through the quarter, the Lions held a three-point lead.

The TexAnns kept the game close, hitting a three to bring the Lion lead to one with three and a half left. Wise took over in the fourth, getting to the foul line to keep the Lions ahead. She scored five consecutive A&M-Commerce points from the foul line. TSU began to foul to try and extend the game, but the Lions hit their free throws and left with the win.

Lions vault six spots to No. 12 in NABC Coaches’ Poll.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team has risen six spots to No. 12 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II Poll, as released Tuesday.

After 11-point wins last week over Texas A&M-Kingsville and Angelo State, the Lions have moved their record to 13-1 overall and lead the Lone Star Conference with a 6-0 record.

The Lions are one of three Lone Star Conference squads in the Top 15, with UT Permian Basin ranked No. 6 and West Texas A&M ranked No. 8. It is the Lions’ highest national ranking since ending the 2004-05 season ranked No. 5.

The Lions host Tarleton State on Tuesday evening before a nine-day break.

NABC/Division II Rankings
(Jan. 9, 2018 – Poll No. 7)

		Record	Points	Last
1.	Queens, N.C. (13)	15-0	392	2
2.	Bellarmine, Ky. (3)	13-0	387	3
3.	West Liberty, W.Va.	13-0	368	4
4.	Northwest Missouri State	13-1	343	1
5.	Lincoln Memorial, Tenn.	14-1	342	6
6.	UT Permian Basin	12-1	320	8
7.	Ferris State, Mich.	16-1	299	10
8.	West Texas A&M	14-1	287	11
9.	Northern State, S.D.	16-1	256	13
10.	Western Oregon	13-1	253	14
11.	Barry, Fla.	10-2	210	7
12.	A&M-COMMERCE	13-1	198	18
13.	Virginia State	13-1	189	17
14.	Arkansas-Fort Smith	14-1	183	9
15.	West Florida	13-1	150	15
16.	Findlay, Ohio	16-2	129	21
17.	West Chester, Pa.	12-0	126	23
18.	Christian Brothers, Tenn.	12-2	119	5
19.	Wheeling Jesuit, W.Va.	11-2	116	19
20.	Morehouse, Ga.	13-0	100	25
21.	Fort Lewis, Colo.	13-2	95	20
22.	Colorado School of Mines	12-2	93	12
23.	Dallas Baptist, Texas	12-2	59	16
24.	California Baptist	12-2	44	NR
25.	Cal Poly Pomona	10-2	35	NR

Others receiving votes: Claflin (S.C.) 30, William Jewell (Mo.) 14, Valdosta State (Ga.) 12, Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 11, Eckerd (Fla.) 11, Southern New Hampshire 10, Chaminade (Hawai’i) 4, Kutztown (Pa.) 4, Lake Superior State (Mich.) 3, Western Washington 3, Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 2, Minot State (N.D.) 1, Cal State San Marcos 1.

Dropped out: Eckerd (22), Lake Superior State (24).

Records are through games of Jan. 7, 2018.