Rams score 30 straight, down Lion Football, 30-3

SAN ANGELO – Scoring 30 points in the middle two quarters, the Angelo State Rams dropped the Texas A&M University-Commerce football team, 30-3, at LeGrand Stadium on Saturday night. The Rams were held scoreless in the first and fourth quarter but capitalized on two turnovers by the Lions to win their eighth game of the season. 

The loss drops the Lions to a 6-4 with one game left in the season. 

Coming into the game, the Lions had not been shut out for 109 straight games, dating back to the last game of the 2011 season. To keep the streak alive, Jake Viquez (Rockwall) kicked in a 29-yard field goal with three minutes left. The three points scored in Saturday’s game are the lowest since 2012. 

Both defenses made their mark in the first quarter, combining to allow less than 100 yards of offense. In the final drive of the quarter, the Rams made their way into Lion territory for the first time and drilled a 23-yard field goal off the foot of Asa Fuller at the 13:39 mark of the second quarter. 

Mitchell McGarry (Tannum Sands, Queensland, Australia) helped the Lions flip the field with an average of 42.4 yards per punt. He punted five times in the game. McGarry’s longest punt was for 61 yards, which landed inside the 20-yard line. 

Viquez had a 40-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter that sailed wide left. His second attempt of the day came as time expired in the first half. It was from 46 yards out and was blocked. 

In the second quarter, Angelo State had 165 yards of offense and took a commanding 17-0 lead at halftime. Zach Bronkhorst rushed in a 5-yard touchdown for the day’s first touchdown, and Nathaniel Omayebu III scored the second touchdown to make it 17-0 on a 10-yard run. 

The Lion defense had allowed 230 yards or less in each of its past four games. The Rams had 219 yards in the first half. 

Two drives by the A&M-Commerce offense went into Ram territory in the first half; missed field goals stalled both. 

In the second half, they halted the Lions’ first drive with a fumble. The Rams capitalized on the miscue and hit a 42-yard field goal to make it 20-0. 

The Lions gave seven more points to the Rams off a turnover in the third quarter. Andrew Pitts intercepted a pass from Miklo Smalls (Plano East) and returned it for a 46-yard touchdown. Smalls threw for 76 yards on 9-for-16 passing but was sacked three times and was responsible for two turnovers. 

Eric Rodriguez (Missouri City – Fort Bend Travis) threw for 68 yards on 5-for-10 passing, and Jaiave Magalei (Tacoma, Wash.) also had a completion in the game for six yards. 

After the third quarter, the Rams took a 30-0 lead as Fuller converted a 28-yard field goal. 

Carandal Hale (Greenville) led the team in rushing with 48 yards on nine carries. Andrew Armstrong (Dallas – Bishop Dunne) caught four receptions for 57 yards. 

Cedrick Wilcox III (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) had ten tackles in the game, including one for loss. Alex Shillow (Pflugerville) had seven tackles.

UP NEXT

The Lions close out their final season in NCAA Division II on Senior Day against Eastern New Mexico next Saturday, November 13, at 4:00 pm.

 

The No. 16 Patriots win 3-1 to spoil Lion Volleyball’s senior night.

COMMERCE – The No. 16 ranked UT Tyler Patriots spoiled the Texas A&M University-Commerce volleyball team’s senior night with a 3-1 win at the Field House on Saturday night. The Patriots won the match via set scores of 25-23, 25-14, 19-25, and 25-20. 

Despite the loss to the Lone Star Conference-leading Patriots, the Lions remain in the fifth spot in the standings, with a conference record of 10-5 going into the final weekend of the season. They are part of the top-four teams that receive a bye in the first round of the conference tournament. The Patriots are 14-1 on the season. 

SENIOR NIGHT

The Lions held a pre-match senior night ceremony to honor nine graduating seniors Sydney Andersen, Taryn Cast, Riley Davidson, Maiya Dickie, Nicki Gonelli, Destiny Greenwood, Madison Luther, Natalie Sarbeck, and Shelbi Sheppard. 

A kill by Dickie (Huntsville) and two straight aces by Cast (Peaster) helped the Lions lead 4-1 in the first set. They continued to stay ahead in the set, showing 9-6 on two straight aces by Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.). 

Trailing 10-7 in the set, the Patriots took the lead by going on a 5-0 run. They kept pace with the Lions, who regained the lead at 18-17 on a kill by Dickie. A&M-Commerce had a 21-20 lead, but three of the following five points were errors by the Lions, and the Patriots had a chance to win the set at 24-22. After a bad set by UT Tyler, the Patriots won the first set, 25-23, on a kill by Hannah Callison. 

UT Tyler did not trail in the second set and took a commanding 17-7 lead by going on a 7-1 run in the middle of the set. A kill by Dickie, an ace by Essence Allen (Longview – Tatum), and a kill by Maddy Rashford (Placentia, Calif.) started a 3-0 run for the Lions, but the Patriots served back a 3-0 run and won the set, 25-14 on a kill by Mikayla Ware. 

The Lions won their lone set of the night in the third set. A&M-Commerce started the set on a 3-1 run and stayed ahead throughout the set. They did not trail at any point during the set. The Lions had a hitting percentage of .344 in the set and won it on a bad set by the Patriots. 

Looking to force a deciding set against the No. 16 ranked team in the country, the Lions won the first point of the fourth set on a kill by Reese Fetty (Farmersville), but the Patriots won the following five points to lead 5-1. 

The Lions cut it to within one, twice in the set, but the Patriots remained ahead and won the match with a 25-20 win in the fourth set on a kill by Hattie Murray. Mikayla Ware had a double-double for the Patriots with 17 kills and 25 digs. 

For the Lions, Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) had a double-double with 30 assists and 13 digs. Hebert led the team with 21 digs as well as three service aces. Cast had three aces as well, and she led the team with ten kills. Rashford and Dickie had three blocks each. 

Davidson (Commerce) had 15 digs. Dickie had eight kills, while Rashford and Fetty had seven each.

UP NEXT

A&M-Commerce ends the regular season with two matches on the road. It is at UT-Permian Basin on Thursday at 6:00 pm and Western New Mexico on Saturday, November 13 at 1:00 pm central standard time. 

Lion Soccer scores nine against Oklahoma Christian punches ticket to the LSC Tournament.

COMMERCE – Needing a win to keep its season going, the Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team punched its ticket into the Lone Star Conference Tournament with a 9-0 win over Oklahoma Christian on Senior Day at the Lion Soccer Field on Saturday afternoon. 

The nine goals scored are the second-most in program history. The Lions have scored ten goals three times in program history. Since September 11, 2015, it is the first time that the Lions have scored nine or more goals in a match. Eight different players scored for A&M-Commerce on Saturday. 

The Lions entered the day needing a win and a loss by either St. Edward’s or St. Mary’s to make the seven-team Lone Star Conference Tournament field. The Hilltoppers fell 2-1 to Texas Woman’s, thus bidding the Lions into the conference tournament. 

The pairings for the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament, which will be on Tuesday, will be announced on Saturday evening by the conference office. 

SENIOR DAY

Before the match, the Lions honored their five seniors: Kara Blasingame, Leslie Campuzano, Rylie Robertson, Skylar Sorrell, and Cora Welch, with a senior day ceremony. 

The first goal of the day came from Melissa Storey in the seventh minute. A throw-in by Sorrell (Monroe, La.) headed toward McKenna Keeley’s goal (Frisco – Memorial). Story’s shot deflected Karalie Morrison’s (North Richland Hills – Colleyville Heritage) leg back to Storey, who kicked it in.  

Less than four minutes later, Morrison took a corner kick from the far corner headed in by Welch (Plano). 

The Lions continued their set-piece goals, with their third goal coming in the 29th minute by Savanna Puccio (Plano Academy). A throw-in by Mindy Shoffit (Wichita Falls) headed by Keeley toward Puccio, who kicked it in to score. 

Welch scored another goal off a corner kick in the 36th minute. This time, Blasingame (Oswego, Ill.) served it up for Welch, who headed it in. 

Another goal came in the 40th minute, also on a set-piece. Lydia Myers (Colbert, Wash.) took a corner kick that was shot into the goal by Shoffit. Myers got in the scorebook once again less than two minutes later, scoring a goal assisted by Christina Hernandez (Denison). Hernandez took a saved shot, but Myers kicked in the deflection. 

After six goals in the first half, Sorrell gave the Lions their seventh goal in the 55th minute. Morrison sent a long pass to Campuzano (Garland – Lakeview Centennial), who made the extra pass, past the Eagles’ goalkeeper Ashlee Jackson, to Sorrell, who had a clear look at the goal. 

Sorrell led the team with four shots. Myers had three shots, while Welch, Blasingame, Shoffit, and Bush had two each. Gracie Cornelius had two attempts for the Eagles. 

Kirsten Bush (Belton) scored the eighth goal for the Lions in the 61st minute. A cross kick from Puccio deflected off the post and kicked in by Bush. Naomi Sink (Plano) became the eighth different Lion to score. Her goal came off a corner from Myers and barely crossed the goal line. 

The Lions outshot the Eagles, 22-7 in the match. The eight different Lions to score are the most for the Lions since 2005. Jen Peters (Allen) played the first half and did not see a shot on goal. Both attempts on goal for Oklahoma Christian came in the second half, and Lauren Banning (Pflugerville) came up with the save. 

The Lions did not allow a goal in their final three matches of the regular season.

Rotich climbs 26 spots in the final stretch for Lions at the NCAA South Central Regionals.

LUBBOCK – Competing in the best regional championships in NCAA Division II, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s cross country team closed out its season with a 21st place finish at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships. It happened Saturday morning, hosted by Lubbock Christian, at the LCU Cross Country Course. 

The six ranked teams in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) poll competed in the 10-kilometer race. Colorado School of Mines won the team championship with a score of 42. Adams State and Colorado Christian also receive automatic berths to the NCAA Division II National Championships, finishing second and third, respectively, in the 26-team event. 

Nicodemus Rotich (Eldoret, Kenya) was in 82nd place at the halfway point of the race. He rose 26 spots in the final stretch and finished 56th with a time of 32:05.10. Tanner Townsend (Royse City) finished second on the team and 103rd overall with a time of 33:09.63. 

Less than a minute after Townsend crossed the finish line, Alex Speer (Robinson) finished the race with a time of 33:55.63. Casey Novelo (Burleson – Trinity) and Anthony Gonzales (DeSoto), who timed 34:54.20 and 34:59.20, respectively, followed Alex. 

Jan Lenfert (Buckenhof, Germany) clocked in a time of 35:08.46, and Nicholas Deutsch (Frisco) timed 37:10.03 to round out the Lions’ group in the 183-runner field. 

Colorado School of Mines’ Dillon Powell won the race by 27 seconds with a time of 29:15.35.

Lion Women’s Basketball ends preseason with a 91-64 loss at Houston.

HOUSTON – In the final exhibition game of the 2021-22 season, the Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team played the University of Houston, who won 91-64 at the Fertitta Center on Friday night. 

Dyani Robinson (Langham Creek) led the Lions, who had 11 points. She had double-digit points in the last two exhibition games. A&M-Commerce’s first game of the regular season comes against Colorado State-Pueblo at noon next Friday in Lakewood, Colorado, part of a multi-team event hosted by Colorado Christian.

“I like where we are as a team through three exhibitions against some of the best teams in the country,” said coach Jason Burton. “Tonight, against a high-level Houston team, we were able to force 19 turnovers, grab 16 offensive rebounds, while shooting 85 percent from the free-throw line and getting to the free-throw line more than Houston did.” 

“There is still a lot of room for improvement. We’ve got to feed our bigs more, cut down on our turnovers, and we’ve got to shoot better from the perimeter. We have as deep a team as ever with some young players and newcomers getting better every day. We will be a fun team to watch come March.”  

A&M-Commerce grabbed 22 of its 64 points at the charity stripe, shooting 84.6 percent in the game. Robinson shot 7-for-8 from the free-throw line. Asiyha Smith (Conway, Ark.) shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. 

Dorian Norris (Lake Dallas) came off the bench and had nine points, four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. She led the team in blocks and steals. Ravae Payne (Pearland) also had two steals. 

Payne started the game with eight points, while Chania Wright (DeSoto) had seven and four rebounds. Freshman Laila Lawrence (Lewisville) had six points and three rebounds. 

The Lions trailed 47-34 at the half. Smith had seven points in the first half. She had nine in the game. 

DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) led the team with six rebounds. The sophomore forward was in foul trouble in the second half, entering the fourth quarter with three fouls, and picked up her fourth foul at the 5:35 mark of the fourth quarter. 

The Cougars outshot the Lions 54.3 percent to 29.9 percent in the game. Tatyana Hill had 20 points in the game on 9-for-10 shooting. She had 11 after the first quarter and did not see the floor in the fourth after entering the quarter with four fouls.