Lions battle but fall just short 68-61 to St. Mary’s, split weekend tilt.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team lost a hard-fought battle to St. Mary’s 68-61 on Sunday. The Lions fell behind early and kept chipping away but fell just short of the comeback. 

The loss brings the Lions to 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rattlers climb to 1-2 on the year and 1-1 in conference play. 

The Lions return to action on Friday as they travel to Lubbock to face Lubbock Christian. The game is at 5:30 pm at the Rip Griffin Center. 

HEAD COACH JARET VON ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME

– On the game: “We did some good things. You just can’t miss layups, and we missed 50-50 balls. We just didn’t play well enough to win. That’s one of the worst games we’ve played at home in a long time. We just have to play better and play cleaner.”

– On St. Mary’s adjustments: “You have to give St. Mary’s a lot of credit. In both games, they really slowed the tempo down. We give them a lot of credit, being shorthanded, and after a tough one yesterday where they had a chance to win, they came back and brought it again. It got close, but they made more plays than we did down the stretch.”

– On the offensive production: “I liked the majority of our shots. You just have to make open threes and layups. On their end, they made their shots around the rim, and they finished those plays. That’s the difference tonight. The Lone Star is a monster. These back-to-backs are tough. You just have to be tougher mentally and be ready.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– The Lions held the lead briefly in the first half but trailed for more than 38 minutes of the contest.

– Augustine Ene (Carrollton – Creekview) led the team with 18 points, all of which came in the second half.

– Rodney Brown (Beaumont – West Brook) approached a double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds. Devin Bethely (Baton Rouge, La.) added eight points and four assists. Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) had six points and a team-high five assists.

– The Lions were held to 33 percent shooting in the game, while St. Mary’s shot 44 percent.

– A&M-Commerce had 23 offensive rebounds and scored 17 second-chance points. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions struggled to start, making just one of their first five shots. Meanwhile, the Rattlers came out on a hot streak, leading 14-5 after seven minutes of play. The Rattlers made six of their first ten shots, while turnovers plagued A&M-Commerce early. 

Bethely started to pull the Lions back, hitting back-to-back threes to jumpstart the Lion offense. That stemmed the Rattler run, but StMU continued to match the Lion points, keeping their lead in double figures. The Lions continued to fire from three, with multiple triples falling to keep the game within reach. 

At the seven-minute mark, the Lions started a mini-run, cutting the Rattler lead to just six points. The teams traded field goals for the remainder of the half, as StMU went into the halftime break with a 36-29 lead. 

The Lions shot 38 percent in the first half, while the Rattlers shot 47 percent from the field. The Lions had seven giveaways in half, while StMU had only two. Bethely, Lara, and Brown each had six points in the half to lead A&M-Commerce. 

The second half started even as both teams executed well to start on the offensive end. After three minutes, the Lions went on a run, with a three-point play and a three-pointer from Ene, cutting the Rattler lead to just two points. StMU answered back with a 7-0 run of their own to re-establish their lead. At the midway mark of the half, the Lions trailed 51-45. 

A pair of defensive stops from the Lions allowed them to cut the Rattler lead once again, as Demarcus Demonia had a couple of buckets. The Lions continued their assault from beyond the arc to keep the score within one score with two minutes left. The Lions were within striking distance late but could not get over the hump to take the lead.

Several scoring runs lead the Lions to a 71-49 win, a sweep of St. Mary’s.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team defeated St. Mary’s 71-49 on Sunday afternoon. Using several scoring runs throughout the contest, the Lions completed a weekend sweep of the Rattlers. 

The win brings the Lions to 4-0 on the season and 4-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rattlers fall to 0-4 on the season and 0-2 in conference play. 

The Lions return to action on Friday as they travel to Lubbock to face Lubbock Christian. The game will be 3:30 pm at the Rip Griffin Center. 

HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME

– Thoughts on the game: “We came out of the gate and did exactly what we needed to do in the first half. We came out with a much better start offensively and defensively. I thought our attention to detail defensively in the first half was a lot better than it was yesterday. That was the difference in the game. We were able to jump out to a nice lead, and then when they made their run in the second half, we were able to sustain their runs.

– On the scoring run in the first quarter: “It started with Chania Wright finding her midrange jumper. To come out with tired legs, because I thought there were times where we didn’t move with the same type of energy. I thought our bench provided a spark for us. They had opportunities for growth and development, and a lot of people stepped up.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– A&M-Commerce had several scoring runs in the first half. They had a 17-0 run in the first quarter and both a 9-0 run and an 11-0 run in the second quarter.

– DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) led all scorers with 17 points, with several and-one conversions during the game. She also led the team with four steals.

– Chania Wright (DeSoto) added 13 points, 10 of which came in the first half. Agang Tac (Garland – Sachse) had nine points and led the team with six rebounds.

– Asiyah Smith (Conway, Ark.) also had nine points, while Keekee Nowlin (Bryan) had seven points and six rebounds. Ravae Payne (Pearland) led the team with six assists.

– The Lions forced 25 turnovers and scored 28 points off of turnovers. The Lions had 21 turnovers in the game.

– The Lions shot 44 percent in the game while holding St. Mary’s to just 33 percent. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions started cold from the field, missing their first six shots. After the Rattlers scored the first four points of the game, the Lions found their stroke. Wright had seven points as the Lions scored 17 points in a row to take a 17-4 lead with two minutes left. StMU scored the final six points of the quarter as the Lions led 17-10 after one.                                                                                                 

The Rattlers continued their push early in the second quarter, stretching their first-quarter run to an 11-0 run to cut the Lion lead to just two points. A shot from Nowlin got the Lions back to their scoring ways. It was the start of a 9-0 run for A&M-Commerce, as the team hit seven of their next eight shots to regain a double-figure lead. It was a closing 22-7 scoring differential as the Lions took a 39-22 lead into halftime. 

Wright led all scorers with 10 points in the first half, including a pair of triples. Kernal and Nowlin each had seven points, while Smith had six. The Lions shot 50 percent from the field. The Lions capitalized on turnovers, scoring 18 of their 39 points off of giveaways. The Lions held St. Mary’s to just 35 percent shooting in the first half. 

The Lions continued their strong play coming out of halftime, using an 8-0 run to take a 51-24 lead. Kernal had two three-point plays as part of the run as she bullied her way in the paint. A&M-Commerce led by 28 at the midway mark of the quarter. The Rattlers rattled off seven points in a row to cut into the lead, but the Lions led 59-37 after three quarters. 

After scoring the first basket of the quarter, the Lions then were held scoreless for more than seven minutes as StMU went on an 8-0 run. However, the Lion defense kept the Rattlers from cutting into the lead, and they coasted to the win.

Late push lifts Lions to 65-58 win over St. Mary’s in the home opener.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team defeated St. Mary’s 65-58 on Saturday afternoon. In a close tilt throughout, the Lions finished the game on a 10-3 run to pick up their first conference win of the season. 

The win brings the Lions to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rattlers fall to 0-2 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. 

The teams will meet again on Sunday in game two of the doubleheader home-opening weekend. The game will be at 4:30 pm. at the Field House. 

HEAD COACH JARET VON ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME

– On gritting out a win: “Before the game, you want to be firing on all cylinders. We wanted to be able to shoot threes and get stops and have it be a clean game. But basketball is not always like that. There were a lot of good things that we did, and we gritted it out and made a few more plays than they did towards the end. It was just ugly, but the sign of a good team is to be able to win ugly games, so hopefully, that will be a trend that continues because we don’t expect to shoot it well every night.”

– The close outplay of Bethely: 

“He’s played so many college basketball games. He just made winning plays- got some rebounds, got some loose balls. He was able to get fouled. I thought it was really positive, especially in the last two minutes. We did the things we need to do.”

– On the play of Tuttle: “He looked good on the floor and got us into our offense and made good plays. It seemed like he was able to put pressure on the ball defensively without fouling. He set the tone on that side of the ball. It is the most he’s played in a long time.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– With the game tied at 55 with two minutes left, the Lions finished the game on a 10-3 run to win.

– There were 12 ties and seven lead changes in the game. The Lions led for just 7:06 of the contest.

– The Lions shot 38 percent in the game, including 24 percent from behind the arc. The Lions made 16 free throws to bolster their scoring effort.

– Devin Bethely (Baton Rouge, La.) led the Lions with 12 points in the contest, including the final eight points for A&M-Commerce. He also led the team with eight rebounds and seven assists.

– Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) added 11 points, 10 of which came in the first half.

– JJ Romer Rosario (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.) added nine points while Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) and Demarcus Demonia (Fort Washington, Md.) added seven points apiece.

– The Lion bench outscored the StMU bench 31-13. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Rattlers scored the first two buckets of the game, taking a quick 5-0 lead. The Lions hit a pair of threes to pull back to tie the game at 9-all after five minutes of play. The teams had spurts of scoring and spurts of cold spells, trading mini runs. The Lions took their first lead at the 10-minute mark of the half, leading by two. 

The teams continued to trade leads, as the Lions led for more than three minutes in a back-and-forth affair before the Rattlers took the lead back and went on a run. With five minutes to go in the half, the Rattlers led 28-22. The Lions stemmed the tide, keeping the game within reach. The Lions scored the final four points of the half to go into halftime trailing 34-32. 

The Lions shot 41 percent in the first half. However, they struggled from behind the arc, shooting just 25 percent. Tuttle led the Lions with 10 points in the first half, while Romer Rosario had five points. Nine different Lions had points in the first half, and there were seven ties and four lead changes in the half. 

After an early three for the Lions, the Rattlers pushed their lead to four points early in the second half. The Lions clawed back and took the lead back near the 15-minute mark of the half. The Lions had several stellar defensive plays, including a block at the rim by Leo Lara to deny a flush from the Rattlers. However, StMU began a push establishing a lead once again, going on a 9-0 run taking a 46-39 lead at the 12-minute mark. 

The Lions fought back and fought to tie the game at 50 at the midway point of the half over the next two minutes. The teams continued to battle as for the next six minutes, the teams traded buckets and made strong defensive stops. With four minutes to play, the teams tied at 55. 

The defensive battle continued as neither team could make a push until Bethely hit a three off of a screen to put the Lions in the lead with two minutes remaining. Bethely also hit several free throws late in the game to ice the game for A&M-Commerce.

Lions use the strong second half to knock off St. Mary’s 69-46 in the home opener.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team picked up a 69-46 win over St. Mary’s on Saturday afternoon in their home opener. After a close first half, the Lions exploded in the second half to pull away for the conference win. 

The win brings the Lions to 3-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Rattlers fall to 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference play. 

The teams will meet again on Sunday in game two of the doubleheader home-opening weekend. The game will be at 2:00 pm at the Field House. 

HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME

– On the game: “We came out defensively and played the way we needed to play. That was big for us in today’s game. We needed to be low-turnovers, we needed to guard, and we needed to rebound. I thought if we did that at home, the rest would take care of itself.”

– On the scoring in the post: “I thought Jordyn Beaty and DesiRay Kernal really took advantage of low post play. I thought they were both phenomenal today. We had a lot of people step up and play incredible games today.”

– On the depth of the team coming in to play:

 “We were able to play 13 people today, and nobody played over 26 minutes. We were fortunate to be able to do that with a quick turnaround tomorrow. We had some people play their first college game today, and they played with energy and confidence. I thought, especially in the second half, there wasn’t a lot of dropoffs when we subbed. To have that in a game like this, a conference game of this magnitude, I’m really proud of our players and how they have bought in.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Leading by seven at halftime, the Lions outscored the Rattlers by 15 in the third quarter and 38-22 in the second half.

– The Lions shot 40 percent from the field, including 45 percent in the second half.

– DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) led all scorers with 20 points in the game, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. She had 15 points in the second half. She also had five rebounds, tallying a team-high +27 plus/minus.

– Jordyn Beaty (Woodville) added 11 points and five rebounds, while Agang Tac (Garland – Sachse) had 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Keekee Nowlin (Bryan) had eight points and led the team with five assists.

– The Lions scored 32 points in the paint, 26 points off of 19 Rattler turnovers, and 19 second-chance points with 12 offensive rebounds.

– The Lions assisted on 19 of their 25 baskets. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions were strong on the offense boards early in the game, scoring their first three baskets off offensive rebounds, taking an early 6-2 lead. The Rattlers fought back, using a Lion cold streak to crawl back into the game, taking the lead late in the quarter. Nowlin hit a shot at the buzzer to send the teams into the second quarter tied at 11. 

A&M-Commerce started the second quarter on a hot streak, scoring two early baskets to take a 16-11 lead. The Lions found their stroke from the field in the second quarter. After shooting just 29 percent in the first quarter, the Lions shot 44 percent in the second quarter. The Lions capitalized on five Rattler turnovers and pushed their lead to as many as eight in the quarter. A&M-Commerce led 31-24 at halftime. 

The Lions shot 36 percent from the field in the first half, scoring 18 points in the paint and 13 second-chance points. The Lions also had 11 points off of turnovers in half. Beaty led the team with nine points in the half, Tac added eight points and led the team with four rebounds. The team assisted on eight of their 12 field goals in half. 

A&M-Commerce exploded in the third quarter, outscoring the Rattlers 22-7 in the quarter. Kernal had 13 points in the quarter, including the opening three of the half. The Lions hit three triples early in the quarter, with two three-point plays from Kernal, and pushed their lead to as many as 26 in the quarter, leading 53-31 after the buzzer. A&M-Commerce shot 47 percent in the quarter, while StMU made just two field goals in the entire quarter. 

The fourth quarter was more of the same for the Lions, as the Lion reserves continued to hit from the floor. The team shot 43 percent in the final period and assisted on all six of their field goals. The Lions led by as many as 29 late, winning their first home game of the year.