Last-second shot off the mark as Lions fall 94-91 to Tarleton

STEPHENVILLE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team lost a hard-fought 94-91 game against Tarleton on Saturday. The Lions had a chance to tie the game late but could not get their final shot to fall to extend the action. 

The loss brings the Lion to 7-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Lone Star Conference. The Texans improved to 5-6 on the year and 1-4 in conference play. 

The Lions now enter the holiday break and will return to action on January 2 as they host Cameron. The game will be at 7:30 pm at the Field House in Commerce. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the Lions with 25 points, shooting 11-of-13 from the field. He had 20 points in the first half, shooting a perfect 9-of-9.

– Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) scored 24 points, including nine points from beyond the arc. He scored 20 points in the second half.

– Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall) had 17 points, all of which came in the second half.

– The Lions again had a hot shooting night, shooting 59.6 percent from the field. TSU shot 57.1 percent.

– TSU shot 26 free throws in the game, while the Lions shot just 13 in the game. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams started hot from the field, as the teams were tied 10-all early. Alex Peavy (San Antonio – Smithson Valley) hit a pair of early threes to spark the Lions, and Deon Barrett (Dallas – Lancaster) hit two floaters in the lane. 

TSU then went on a big run, canning 12 points in a row and eventually pushing their lead to 27-12. The Lions then turned to Stewart to find a spark, and he helped the team go on a 15-0 run to tie the game at 27. Stewart had nine points in a row and scored 12 of those 15 points. At the nine-minute mark, the game tied. 

The Lions briefly held their first lead of the game as Stewart continued to shoot lights out. The Lions led 38-35 with six minutes remaining. TSU went on a run to regain the lead, leading by six with a minute to go. However, the Lions scored the final four points of the half to go into halftime trailing 47-45. 

Stewart scored 20 points in the first half, making all nine of his shots. The Lions shot 58 percent in the first half, including 50 percent from beyond the arc. 

TSU pushed their lead to seven points early in the half before the Lions started a run. Grandstaff hit a pair of threes in a row to cut the lead to just one point. 

Along with Grandstaff, Terrell also found his stroke in the second half, scoring 14 points in a row at one point for the Lions as they reversed the score and took the lead. Midway through the half, the Lions led by five. 

Terrell and Grandstaff continued to push the Lions forward late, as the Lions hit two threes in a row to lead by as many as seven. TSU slowly chipped away at the lead and regained it with five minutes to play. 

The Lions found themselves trailing by seven in the final two minutes, but did not give up their fight. Stewart had a bucket, and Grandstaff got fouled on a three-pointer with five-second to go, with the opportunity to tie the game. He made two of his three free throws, prompting the Lions to foul. After TSU hit both of their shots, the Lions had one final chance to extend the game. However, a long shot three went off the iron, and the Lions ran out of time. 

No. 8 Lions stifle TWU 76-46 for 10th consecutive win to open season.

DENTON – The No. 8 Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team picked up a 76-46 win over Texas Woman’s on Thursday. The Lions played suffocating defense throughout, causing 34 turnovers in the game. 

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

The Lions return to action in their final game of the 2019 calendar year as they face Tarleton. The game will be played at 2:00 pm at Wisdom Gym in Stephenville. The Lion men against Tarleton will follow the game. 

HEAD COACH JASON BURTON AFTER THE GAME

– On overcoming a slow offensive start:  “On the road, sometimes it’s tough to score. And things aren’t going to always go your way. Our defense has been carrying us all season. We’ve been able to guard at a high level. They came out hot and scored 11 points in the first five minutes of the game. And the rest of the half, we held them to 12 points. That level of defense is going to allow us to succeed even if there are times we don’t shoot the ball well. proud of how we bounced back.”

On the strong play from the bench: “Our bench really stepped up. We are a deep team. We had several people in foul trouble in the first half, and everybody that came into the game contributed. I thought Jocelyn Pierce and KeeKee Nowlin had great first halves for us. That was a spark for us and allowed us to play through some foul trouble.”

On the play of Chania Wright: “Chania Wright played the best defense I’ve ever seen her play in this game. And that sparked her to score 21 points, which is her season-high. It didn’t come from the usual places either; she usually is hitting threes. It came from layups and from free throws. She was getting in passing lanes and running the floor. She finished at the basket as well. I’m proud of how she played.” 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– Chania Wright (DeSoto) led the team with a season-high 21 points, 19 of which came in the second half. She also had a career-high six steals.

– Dyani Robinson (Cypress – Langham Creek) added 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

– The Lions had 22 steals in the game, the second-most by the team ever against a Division II opponent. The team caused 34 TWU turnovers in the game, a season-high.

– A&M-Commerce scored 37 points off of TWU’s giveaways. They also scored 42 points in the paint.

– After shooting just 27 percent in the first half, the Lion shot 55 percent in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead, scoring the first two baskets of the game. The Lions battled back with a pair of early threes to tie the game early. After the Pioneers built an 11-7 lead, the Lions held TWU without a field goal for the remainder of the quarter. The Lions took the lead late, taking a 15-14 lead into the quarter. 

The Lion defense continued to cause turnovers to begin the second quarter, as the Lions started on a 12-2 run to open up a double-figure lead. KeeKee Nowlin (Bryan) had a pair of putback buckets as part of the run. Robinson hit a bank shot three at the buzzer to send the Lions into halftime with a 33-23 lead. 

The Lions caused 18 turnovers in half while shooting only 27 percent. 

The Lion defense continued to swarm in the second half, causing multiple turnovers that led to easy baskets. Wright found her stroke on the fast break, scoring numerous times on breakaway layups. The Lions built their lead to as many as 19 in the quarter. The Pioneers cut the Lion lead to 13 points at the end of the third quarter. 

The Lions started the fourth quarter on an 11-0 run, with Wright again scoring multiple times on the fast break. The Lions pushed their lead to as many as 30 in the final quarter.

Hot-shooting leads Lions in 102-78 steamrolling of No. 10 DBU

DALLAS – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team shot for the highest single-game percentage in the last two years to roll to a 102-78 win over No. 10 Dallas Baptist University in the Burg Center on Thursday night. 

The Lions move to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Patriots received their first loss of the year at 9-1 overall and 3-1 in the LSC. The Lions have now defeated three Top 15 teams this season and handed its DBU worst loss since losing by 22 (83-61) at A&M-Commerce on December 6, 2018. 

A&M-Commerce closes out the 2019 calendar year at Tarleton on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Stephenville. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

– The Lions shot 63.3 percent (38-of-60) from the floor in the game. After knocking down 61.3 percent of their shots in the first half (19-of-31), the Lions improved upon that in the second half, shooting 65.5 percent (19-of-29).

– Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Deon Barrett (Pleasant Grove) tied for high point honors with 21 points apiece.

– Stewart netted his points on 9-of-11 shooting, also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out two assists.

– Barrett made five three-pointers and filled out the box score with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

– Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with three rebounds and three assists.

– Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) rounded out the Lions’ double-digit scorers with 12 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting. 

COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME

On his team’s overall performance: “That was a great performance. I really felt like we won the game with our last two days of preparation. You try to do a few subtle changes inside your scheme, and our guys really absorbed it, especially on the defensive end. I feel like that led us to get out and make our offense easy at times. That’s a very good defensive team, and if we’re getting the ball out of our own net, that makes it harder to get production on the offensive side. We did a really nice job on the glass and did the things we talked about beforehand. When you get a good game plan, you don’t always know if things are going to work, but it was an exciting night. A lot of guys got to play and had success.” 

On the Lions’ hot shooting: “Sometimes the ball goes in, and it becomes contagious when you share the ball like we did and run a crisp offense. You see different guys hitting shots, and it’s not on their own play. If it wasn’t their assist, it was a hockey assist, and then a guy gets the advantage and scores. We did a really good job all around.” 

On the Lions’ defensive effort: “We were able to take some shots in the first half to get a lead, then cause some turnovers that got us extra possessions. In the second half, the first eight minutes, we made them have empty possessions, and that’s how you’re able to build that kind of lead.” 

HOW IT HAPPENED

For the first seven minutes of the game, it appeared the nationally-ranked Patriot squad could have the better of the Lions, going on a 9-2 run, taking an 11-6 lead on a Carson Hughes three-pointer at the 13:43 mark. 

It woke the Lions from their slumber, and the visiting team roared back. A&M-Commerce made eight of its next nine shots, including a 14-3 run that flipped the score. The Lions took a 21-14 lead at the 10:19 mark on a Terrell long-distance connection. 

DBU responded by getting three-pointers to fall, and the home side went ahead 24-23 with 8:19 to play in the first half. The Lions wrested the lead from the Patriots for good on an Alex Peavy (Smithson Valley) three-pointer on the next possession. The corner trey started a 10-2 rally for the Lions that gave them the lead for good. 

While the Lions did not concede the lead, the Patriots managed to get to within one point at 33-32 with just over four minutes left in half. A&M-Commerce proceeded to outscore its hosts by a 14-2 margin after the last media timeout of the period, and Terrell’s three-pointer as time expired gave the Lions a 47-34 lead at the break. Terrell led all scorers with 12 points at the intermission. 

As the Lions came out of the locker room, they were determined to leave no doubt that they would leave the Burg Center victorious. DBU could only make one field goal in the first four minutes, while Barrett hit a pair of three-pointers, Terrell established a layup, and Peavy converted a three-point play. The Lions took a 21-point lead at 55-34 with 17:32 to go. 

DBU narrowed the margin to 16 points before an eight-point Lion rally featuring three-pointers from Barrett and Lara. With just over five minutes to play, A&M-Commerce took off on a final rally to emphatically stamp the win. A thunderous dunk by Stewart followed by consecutive triples from Barrett pushed the lead out to 32 points at 93-61. 

The coach featured the Lion reserves for the final four-and-a-half minutes. Carius Key (Irving – MacArthur) put the Lions over the century mark with a pair of free throws and a two-handed flush by Vydal Bradford (Mansfield – Legacy) closed out a runaway Lion victory.

Ramsey & Simon earn Second Team All-American honors from D2CCA

Ramsey is the first player in D2CCA program history to earn All-America at two positions in the same season

WICHITA FALLS – Texas A&M University-Commerce’s Dominique Ramsey and Amon Simon have been named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-American Second Team, as selected by the nation’s sports information directors. 

Ramsey earned All-American honors at as both safety and kick returner, while Simon earned All-American honors on the offensive line. 

The D2CCA All-American program has existed for 27 years, and Ramsey makes history as the first student-athlete in D2CCA Football All-America history to earned honors at two separate positions in the same year.  

Ramsey – a redshirt junior from Converse (Judson) – has now earned four career All-American honors and three this season. He was named First Team All-American as an all-purpose player by the Associated Press earlier this week. The Cliff Harris Award nominee has also been named to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football All-Texas small college team and has earned First Team All-Super Region Four honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association as both a safety and return specialist. 

He earned LSC Special Teams Player of the Week honors twice in 2019, ranking second in the nation in kickoff return average at 37.5 yards per return, and second in the LSC and ninth in the nation in punt return average at 14.7 yards per return. His return prowess has seen teams kick away from him insomuch as he did not return a kickoff in the last three games of the regular season. He also had 39 tackles, three interceptions, two pass breakups, and two tackles for loss on defense. 

Simon – a redshirt junior from Humble (Atascocita) – earns his second All-American honor of both the season and his career, having earned Second Team All-American honors from the Associated Press earlier this week. The Dave Campbell’s Texas Football All-Texas small college team named him. He has earned First Team All-Super Region Four honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association. In 2019, he earned Lone Star Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year and First Team All-LSC honors at offensive tackle. He blocked for an offense that averaged 407.9 yards and 36.1 points per game during the regular season.

2019 D2CCA FOOTBALL ALL-AMERICANS
FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE

POS	PLAYER	SCHOOL	CLASS	HT.	WT.	HOMETOWN
TE	Zach Davidson	Central Missouri	Jr.	6-7	245	Webb City, Mo.
OL	Chris Larsen	Slippery Rock	Sr.	6-4	320	Erie, Pa.
OL	Tyler Allison	Ferris State	Sr.	6-3	315	Clinton Township, Mich.
OL	Evan Heim	Minnesota State	Sr.	6-4	305	DePere, Wisc.
OL	Grant Stewart	Colorado School of Mines	Sr.	6-2	305	Southlake, Texas
OL	Adonis Sealey	Valdosta State	Sr.	6-2	285	Hamer, S.C.
WR	Zimari Manning	Tarleton State	Sr.	6-2	200	Long Beach, Calif.
WR	Henry Litwin	Slippery Rock	Jr.	6-1	195	Linesville, Pa.
QB	Roland Rivers III	Slippery Rock	Sr.	6-3	230	Ellenwood, Ga.
RB	Jaleel McLaughlin	Notre Dame	So.	5-9	175	Marshville, N.C.
RB	Nate Gunn	Minnesota State	Sr.	6-2	220	Minooka, Ill.
RS	Trey Vaval	Missouri Western	Fr.	6-0	165	Blue Springs, Mo.
PK	Dante Brown	Fort Hays State	Sr.	5-10	185	Mississauga, Ontario

DEFENSE

POS	PLAYER	SCHOOL	CLASS	HT.	WT.	HOMETOWN
DL	Jaquan Artis	Lenoir-Rhyne	Sr.	6-2	245	Kinston, N.C.
DL	Austin Edwards	Ferris State	Sr.	6-5	280	Lansing, Mich.
DL	Chris Garrett	Concordia-St. Paul	Jr.	6-4	230	Milwaukee, Wisc.
LB	Drew Seers	Lindenwood	Sr.	6-1	227	St. Louis, Mo.
LB	Brad Zaffram	Slippery Rock	Sr.	6-1	230	Buffalo, N.Y.
LB	Chris Hoad	UT Permian Basin	Sr.	6-0	228	Leander, Texas
LB	James Maxie	Colorado State-Pueblo	Sr.	6-1	230	Parker, Colo.
S	Christopher Jefferson	Findlay	So.	5-10	185	Euclid, Ohio
S	Nick Ciccio	Colorado Mesa	So.	6-0	190	Castle Pines, Colo.
CB	James Ceasar	Ferris State	Sr.	5-10	195	Detroit, Mich.
CB	Desmon Fairell	Carson-Newman	Sr.	6-0	185	Miami, Fla.
P	Isaac Parks	UNC Pembroke	Jr.	6-0	210	Greensboro, N.C.

SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE

POS	PLAYER	SCHOOL	CLASS	HT.	WT.	HOMETOWN
TE	David Balint III	Shippensburg	So.	6-3	225	Landenberg, Pa.
OL	Jason Poe	Lenoir-Rhyne	Jr.	6-2	250	Fitzgerald, Ga.
OL	Tanner Owen	Northwest Missouri State	Jr.	6-5	290	Kearney, Neb.
OL	Brandon Kemp	Valdosta State	Sr.	6-2	230	Atlanta, Ga.
OL	Amon Simon	A&M-Commerce	Jr.	6-5	275	Humble, Texas
OL	Jimmy Burchett	Notre Dame	Jr.	6-4	310	Alliance, Ohio
WR	Shane Zylstra	Minnesota State	Sr.	6-5	215	Spicer, Minn.
WR	Craig Rucker	Mars Hill	Sr.	5-7	175	Orlando, Fla.
QB	Brook Bolles	Central Missouri	Sr.	6-3	205	Lincoln, Neb.
RB	Daniel McCants	Tarleton State	Sr.	5-8	175	Killeen, Texas
RB	JaQuan Hardy	Tiffin	Jr.	5-10	225	Westlake, Ohio
RS	Dominique Ramsey	A&M-Commerce	Jr.	5-9	190	Converse, Texas
PK	Jordan Walters	East Stroudsburg	Sr.	6-2	200	Sciota, Pa.

DEFENSE

POS	PLAYER	SCHOOL	CLASS	HT.	WT.	HOMETOWN
DL	B.J. Jefferson	Tarleton State	Sr.	6-1	245	Acres Home, Texas
DL	Chad Kuhn	Slippery Rock	Jr.	6-3	240	Vandergrift, Pa.
DL	Spencer Phillips	Northwest Missouri State	Sr.	6-3	270	Tabor, Iowa
LB	Rondrow Peebles	Carson-Newman	Jr.	6-2	240	Knoxville, Tenn.
LB	Maurice Wright, Jr.	Northwestern Okla. St.	Sr.	6-2	242	Luther, Okla.
LB	C.J. Miller	Saint Anselm	Sr.	6-1	215	Clinton, Md.
LB	Mercardo Anderson	Henderson State	Sr.	5-10	195	Ashdown, Ark.
S	Dominique Ramsey	A&M-Commerce	Jr.	5-9	190	Converse, Texas
S	Kyle Dugger	Lenoir-Rhyne	Sr.	6-2	220	Decatur, Ga.
CB	Prince Robinson	Tarleton State	Sr.	6-0	190	Houston, Texas
CB	Michael Junker	Bemidji State	Sr.	5-10	180	Hastings, Minn.
P	JoseLuis Moreno	Minot State	Sr.	6-0	180	San Lorenzo, Calif.