TAMUC – Sports

 

Lions surge in second half to defeat MSU Texas 78-64.

WICHITA FALLS– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team defeated MSU Texas 78-64 on Thursday night. The Lions trailed by one at halftime but took control in the second half to get the win.

The win brings the Lions to 11-2 on the season and 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs fall to 4-9 and 0-3 in conference play.

The Lions return to action on Saturday with a road matchup against Cameron. The game will be played at 4 p.m. at Aggie Gym in Lawton, Okla.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Willie Rooks (Houston – North Forest) finished one rebound shy of a double-double. He led the team with 20 points and pulled in nine rebounds. 16 of his points came in the second half.
– Tyree Robinson (Fall River, Mass.) had 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
– Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) had 14 points while Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga.) had 11 points and led the team with seven assists.
– Trey Conrod (Kilgore) had nine points and four assists and came away with five steals and a pair of blocks on the defensive end.
– The Lions shot 48 percent from the field in the game, including 54 percent in the second half. The Lion defense held MSU to just 37 percent shooting.
– The Lions only trailed for 49 seconds in the game.

HEAD COACH JARET VON ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME

– On interior play: “It’s so big when we do get it in there and penetrate the defense that we take advantage and make (those shots). Tyree is really good at that. We missed some layups in the second half, and the lead hovered around seven for a while. The guys stuck with it, and we kept getting stops on the defensive end.”
– On halftime adjustments: “The two things we talked about at length were taking care of the glass – holding them to one shot – and taking care of the basketball. In the first half, we did one of the two – we took care of the glass – but we had 11 turnovers. When you look at the final box score, we had 14 for the game, so that’s where we won the game. Taking care of the ball and getting shots. We did it for 20 minutes, we didn’t do it for 40, but we’ll take it.”
– On Cameron matchup: “It’s not going to get any easier. We’ve got to be ready to go when it tips at 4 o’clock on Saturday. We’re playing another hungry, well-coached team that plays a different style, and we’ve got to be ready to adjust and be ready to go.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions scored the first four points of the game. Robinson had an early dunk and also converted a three-point play as the Lions took an early 7-2 lead. Five minutes into the game, the Lions had built a six-point lead.

MSU fought back within one point before the Lions again built their lead back to five. The teams traded buckets before MSU tied the score at 19 midway through the half. The Lions made a slight edge again before the Mustangs again battled back to tie the game with two minutes to go. A late MSU bucket sent the Mustangs into halftime with their first lead of the game, 31-30.

Terrell led the team with 12 points in the first half. Robinson added seven points, and Reid had five. A&M-Commerce shot 40 percent in the first half.

The teams traded buckets to start the second half before the Lions took the lead for good on a three-pointer from Conrod. The Lions then went on a 7-0 run, including two buckets from Robinson and a three from Rooks to build their lead to nine points with 15 minutes left.

The teams traded baskets for the next three minutes before the Lions pushed their lead to double digits. Rooks made consecutive jumpers as the Lions built their lead even further. Rooks converted a three-point play and then had a dunk to put the Lions ahead by 20 points with seven minutes left in the contest.

The Lions pushed their lead to as many as 21 in the game.

 

 

Lions knock off MSU Texas 70-57 behind a balanced attack.

WICHITA FALLS– The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team defeated MSU Texas 70-57 on Thursday night. The Lions pulled ahead early in the game and did not trail after the first quarter.

The win brings the Lions to 7-4 on the season and 2-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs fall to 3-7 and 0-3 in conference play.

The Lions return to action on Saturday with a road matchup against Cameron. The game will be played at 2 p.m. at Aggie Gym in Lawton, Okla.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Chania Wright (DeSoto) led the team with 17 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter. She also had five rebounds and three assists.
– Princess Davis (Shreveport, La.) had 12 points and led the team with five assists. Alexis Bryant (Pflugerville) led the team with nine rebounds and had 11 points.
– Mykiel Burleson (Pflugerville) had eight rebounds, and Ekaterina Zhibareva (Liske, Russia) had eight points and five rebounds.
– The Lions shot 36 percent in the game and held MSU to just 30 percent shooting. The Lions got to the foul line 25 times in the contest.
– The Lions scored 42 points in the paint and held a 29-9 advantage in fast-break points.

HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME

– On the win on the road: “It’s a great win. Anytime you can win by double figures, that’s special. That’s something we challenged them to do, is to come out and get a lead and maintain it. When you look at it, the game was pretty even. We came out and took care of business in the first quarter and did a tremendous job from the start.”
– On the play of Alexis Bryant: “I think that this was Alexis Bryant’s best game as a Lion. I thought she was very good in the paint, being straight up defensively – I thought she played great post defense. Offensively, she was scoring and was the Alexis Bryant we see all the time in practice. She was very efficient in the paint and did a great job for us today.”

– On the evolution of the offense: “I think we’re getting a lot better when a team presses us. We’re taking advantage of 3-on-2’s and 2-on-1’s. Early in the season, we would back out and try to run the offense instead of using those numbers. The third quarter was our best quarter because we got to the bonus early by attacking.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams scored on their opening possession, but both struggled from the field in the early stages of the game. The Lions scored two points over four minutes, allowing MSU to get out to a 10-6 lead. The Lions finished the quarter on a tear, however. The Lions ended the quarter on a 13-0 run to take a 19-10 lead into the quarter break.

The Lions pushed their run to 15-unanswered, scoring the first bucket of the second quarter. The teams traded early baskets, with the Lions holding an 11-point lead with seven minutes left. The Mustangs then went on a 5-0 run to cut the Lion lead to six points. Both teams went cold for two minutes before a late attack from the Lions built their lead again. A new three from MSU sent the Lions into halftime with a 34-26 lead.

Bryant led the team with seven points at the half. Alexus Jones added six points and two assists. Burleson led the team with three assists. The Lions shot well inside, scoring 24 of their 34 first-half points inside the paint. The Lions also got to the line nine times in the first half, making seven from the line.

The Mustangs cut into the Lion lead to six points early in the second half before the Lions again went on a run. This one was an 11-2 run, giving the Lions their largest lead of the ball game, a 47-32 lead. The Lions did their damage from the foul line in the quarter. The Mustangs made a few buckets in a row to end the quarter with the Lions leading 49-40.

Both teams were scoreless in the first two minutes of the quarter before the Lions extended their lead again to double digits. Davis scored the first five points for the Lions as she brought her scoring total to double figures. After the Mustangs went on a run to cut the lead down again, Wright caught fire. She scored 10 points in the quarter as the Lions held off any MSU run, winning the game.

 

MSU Denver Womens’ Basketball vs. Winona State, Auraria Event Center, Denver Colo. Saturday, Nov. 24, 2018. Denver Wins 58-55. Photo by Darral Freund

Trey Conrod, Tyree Robinson repeat as LSC Players of the Week.

RICHARDSON– Texas A&M University-Commerce basketball players Trey Conrod and Tyree Robinson have been named the Lone Star Conference men’s basketball players of the week. Robinson was named Offensive Player of the Week while Conrod was named Defensive Player of the Week. The awards were announced Thursday by the conference office.

Conrod– a senior from Kilgore– earned his second Defensive Player of the Week of the 2018-19 season after snagging six defensive rebounds in the Lions’ 18-point win over Texas A&M-International. He had 10 points, eight total rebounds, four assists and a steal in the victory. The Lions limited TAMIU to 65 points, and .396 shooting, including only 12 made 2-point field goals.

Robinson– a senior from Fall River, Mass.– earned his first Offensive Player of the Week award after earning Defensive honors earlier in the season. Robinson was ultra-efficient from the field in the Lions’ 18-point win against A&M-International last week. He made 10 shots on the way to 23 points in only 15 minutes on the floor. The Lions won their fifth straight game, dating back to November 29th. Robinson now ranks second in the nation in field goal percentage at 72.9 percent, only 0.2 percent off the national lead.

Conrod, Robinson and the Lions return to action tonight against MSU Texas. The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. at D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls.

2018-19 LSC MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive
N-13 Reggie Reid, A&M-Commerce
N-20 Bishop Coulter, MSU Texas
N-26 Zach Dumas, Cameron
D-3 Ryan Quaid, West Texas A&M
D-12 Antonio Singleton, Angelo State
D-20 Brandon Hall, West Texas A&M
J-3 Tyree Robinson, A&M-Commerce

Defensive
N-13 Josh Hawley, Tarleton
N-20 Josh Wallace, MSU Texas
N-26 Trey Conrod, A&M-Commerce
D-3 Tyree Robinson, A&M-Commerce
D-12 Willie Rooks, A&M-Commerce
D-20 Tyus Momoh, Cameron
J-3 Trey Conrod, A&M-Commerce (2)

 

 

Lion student-athletes excel in the classroom in Fall 2018 semester.

COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce student-athletes excelled in the classroom in the Fall 2018 semester, posting fantastic grades throughout all sports programs.

As a whole, the athletics department posted a grade point average of 3.09 for the fall semester, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.13. All told, 10 of the Lions’ 14 sports programs have grade point averages of 3.0 or better.

“These results reflect a true classroom championship for Lion Athletics,” Director of Athletics Tim McMurray noted. “Congratulations to our dedicated scholar-athletes, our dynamic Thrower Student-Athlete Success Center team, and our dedicated head coaches on these impressive numbers. We are also grateful to the Provost and Division of Academic Affairs, along with the collaboration of our five academic deans, for being Best in Class partners in our student success.”

Standout sports programs in the fall semester included women’s golf (3.77), volleyball (3.52), softball (3.50), soccer (3.31), and men’s golf (3.22).

“What a great semester for our student-athletes! I am proud of the work they have done and look forward to continued progress in the spring semester,” said Judy Sackfield, deputy athletics director for student-athlete success. “The hard work and dedication they put into their sport, community engagement, and the classroom are truly Best In Class.”

Regarding individual academic accolades, 40 Lion student-athletes were named to the Texas A&M University-Commerce President’s List, and 52 student-athletes were named to the Dean’s List.

A total of 42 student-athletes were named to the Best In Class Honor Roll, which represents a perfect 4.0 term grade point average. Additionally, 50 Lions were called to the Athletics Director’s List for a term grade point average between 3.50 and 3.99, and 82 student-athletes were named to the Lion Honor Roll for a term grade point average between 3.00 and 3.49.

For sports in their championship season in the fall semester, academic highlights included CoSIDA/Google Cloud Academic All-America honors for volleyball’s Jaslyn Wacker and football’s Garrett Blubaugh and Kristov Martinez. Martinez and soccer’s Michelle Kotlik were also named the Lone Star Conference Academic Player of the Year. Five Lions were named CoSIDA/Google Cloud Academic All-District, and nine A&M-Commerce student-athletes were named Lone Star Conference All-Academic.

 

 

Onuoha and Martinez named First Team All-Americans by D2Football.com; Lions ranked 9th in the final poll.

COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce defensive lineman Michael Onuoha and kicker Kristov Martinez have been named First Team All-Americans by D2Football.com, as announced this week.

The duo helped lead the Lions to their fourth straight playoff appearance and a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional Semifinal round. The Lions went 10-3 in the 2018 campaign. The Lions are ranked No. 9 nationally in the D2Football.com Final Poll of the season.

Onuoha (Edmond, Okla.) earns his second career All-American honor after making 47 tackles with 14.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, an interception, a blocked kick, and 10 quarterback hurries. He finished fifth in the LSC in tackles for loss and tied for second in the LSC in sacks.

Martinez (Edinburg) adds to a stunning list of honors with his fifth All-American honor of the season and seventh in his career after another record-setting campaign in which he set multiple schools, conference and NCAA records. After becoming the all-time leading scorer in program history in 2017, Martinez became the all-time leading scorer in Lone Star Conference history during his senior season. He finished his career as the active scoring leader in Division II (449 points) and the all-time leading kick scorer in Division II history.

Martinez was also named a First Team All-American by the AFCA and Associated Press, First Team Academic All-American by CoSIDA and Second Team All-America honors from the D2CCA and was both a First Team All-Super Region and First Team All-Conference selection. He was also named the LSC Academic Player of the Year. He scored 111 points on the year, including 21 field goals and all 48 of his extra point attempts. He finished his career having made 103 consecutive extra points. His strong leg helped the Lions rank as one of the top kick return defenses in the nation, recording 32 touchbacks. He tied a Division II playoff record with five field goals in a game, including a career-long 55-yarder, in the team’s final game of the year.