The case takes over TAMUC’s all-time wins leader with the Lions’ five-set win over DBU.
COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce head volleyball coach Craig Case became the program’s all-time leader in wins Wednesday. The Lions fought for a five-set win over Dallas Baptist University in the Field House.
Set scores were 20-25, 25-20, 25-21, 13-25, 15-4. The Lions are now 2-0 overall and 2-0 in the Lone Star Conference. DBU falls to 0-4 overall and 0-4 in the league.
The Lions are next in action on Tuesday and Wednesday, February 9 and 10, at UT Tyler in matchups of the two remaining undefeated teams in the LSC Central Division.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Case won his 186th match to pass Kathy Goodlett as the winningest coach in program history. His record now stands at 186-127 in his 11th season.
– Sydney Andersen (Placentia, Calif.) had a double-double once again, tying for the team lead with 13 kills and digging out 20 balls on the defensive end.
– Riley Davidson (Commerce) led all players with 24 digs, and Lyric Hebert (Arvada, Colo.) earned 20 digs.
– Maiya Dickie (Huntsville) tied for the team lead in kills with 13 and led the team with four blocks.
– Taryn Cast (Peaster) had a career-high 11 kills. Celeste Vela (Guadalajara, Mexico) passed out 39 assists.
– The Lions hit .114 for the match with 58 kills, while DBU hit .161 with 51 kills.
– This was the Lions’ fourth straight five-set match dating back to the final two games of the 2019 season. That matches the longest streak of five-set matches since September of 2014. There have been five runs, four consecutive five-setters in program history, but five straight five-setters have never run.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set tied at seven-all before DBU went on an 11-1 rally, pushing out to an 18-8 lead. That margin seemed enough for the Patriots to cruise to a set win with the guests holding set point at 24-12 before the Lions roared back to make the set interesting. The Lions scored eight straight points on Vela’s serve, including two Cast kills, but the Lions ran out of time to come back as DBU took the opener 25-20. DBU hit .140 in the set compared to a .060 rate for the Lions.
A&M-Commerce used a late set rally to tie the match with a win in the second frame. After leading 17-12 and 21-16, the Lions saw DBU fight back to within a point at 21-20. DBU had a hitting error to kick off a Lion rally with kills by Dickie and Andersen. TAMUC scored the final four points of the set to tie the match.
The Lions scored the first four points of the third set before the Patriots scrapped back into the set, taking the lead at 14-13. The Lions held a narrow advantage at 21-20, the power duo of Andersen and Dickie each threw down a pair of kills to score four of the last five points and take the two sets to one lead.
DBU flipped that momentum on its head in the fourth set with big runs and poor hitting from the Lions. A&M-Commerce fought off set point three times before DBU sent the match to the deciding set with a 25-13 win. The Patriots hit .314 in the set with 14 kills, while A&M-Commerce was minus-.043 with nine kills and 11 errors.
The three-minute break between sets was enough for the Lions to clear their heads of the previous set and pound out a decisive win. TAMUC rushed out to a 7-2 lead and held a 9-4 lead before the final push. Three different players had kills as the Lions scored the match’s final six points, and a Cast/Keziah Williams (Branson, Mo.) combo block closed out the game.
Lion Football welcomes 23 on National Signing Day.
COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce head football coach David Bailiff announced the 2021 National Signing Day class, with 23 new Lions signing letters of intent on Wednesday.
The class features numerous all-state and all-district picks, team captains, as well as academic all-stars.
The Lions will begin spring practices in the coming weeks to prepare for the Fall 2021 season, which will feature seven home games.
For more information on the Lion program and future signees, follow the team’s Twitter account @Lions_FB. Video highlights with coaches’ commentary of this year’s signees are available on YouTube.
2021 National Signing Day Class
McKenzie Agnello | OL | 6-5 | 320 | Copperas Cove, Texas | Copperas Cove HS |
Shawn Brown | WR | 6-3 | 185 | Greenville, Texas | Greenville HS |
Eli Caruthers | LB | 6-4 | 210 | Kilgore, Texas | Kilgore HS |
Jude Collins | K/P | 6-3 | 220 | Fort Worth, Texas | Western Hills HS |
Chandler Donaway | OL | 6-3 | 250 | Klein, Texas | Klein Oak HS |
Peyton Ellis | OL | 6-6 | 295 | Bullard, Texas | Bullard HS |
Anthony Hayes | DL | 6-5 | 260 | Panama City, Fla. | Bay HS/Southwest Mississippi CC |
Ke’Ori Hicks | RB | 5-11 | 195 | Denton, Texas | Ryan HS |
Kion Hurd | LB | 5-9 | 215 | Columbus, Texas | Columbus HS |
Kedrick James | TE | 6-5 | 260 | Waco, Texas | La Vega HS/SMU |
Josiah Kennard | LS | 6-2 | 215 | Manvel, Texas | Manvel HS |
Anthony Lacy | WR | 6-2 | 190 | Fort Worth, Texas | All Saints Episcopal HS |
Jaheim Lowe | LB | 6-1 | 210 | Cedar Hill, Texas | Cedar Hill HS |
Tyler Malin | LB | 6-1 | 220 | Frisco, Texas | Westlake (Ohio) HS/Kentucky |
Le’Marion Miller | DB | 6-2 | 205 | Mexia, Texas | Mexia HS |
Brock Nellor | QB | 6-2 | 225 | Mt. Vernon, Texas | Mt. Vernon HS |
Cameron Nellor | WR | 6-0 | 180 | Mt. Vernon, Texas | Mt. Vernon HS/Trinity Valley CC |
Michael Ray | DB | 6-1 | 195 | Crosby, Texas | Crosby HS |
Jaden Rios | DB | 6-3 | 175 | Frisco, Texas | Lone Star HS |
Austin Samaha | TE | 6-3 | 240 | Sour Lake, Texas | Hardin-Jefferson HS |
Michael Surface | DL | 6-4 | 230 | Greenville, Texas | Greenville HS |
Josh Vogel | K | 6-5 | 200 | Rockwall, Texas | Heath HS |
Justice Williams | DL | 6-6 | 260 | Detroit, Mich. | Belleville HS/Independence CC |
Lion men return to action hosting No. 15 DBU on Thursday.
COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team returns to action in the Field House on Thursday night, hosting nationally-ranked Dallas Baptist University for the first of a pair of divisional games
WHO: DBU at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | The Field House
WHEN: 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 4
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 5-3 overall and 4-3 in the Lone Star Conference. DBU is 10-2 overall and in LSC play.
RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce is unranked, while DBU is ranked No. 15 in the NABC Coaches’ Poll and No. 21 in the D2SIDA Poll.
TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: Lone Star Conference Digital Network (Direct Link)
RADIO: Lion Sports Network | KETR-FM 88.9 (Streaming on KETR.org)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIONS RETURN TO ACTION VS. DBU
• The Lions will host DBU in the first game of a divisional series after a prolonged layoff.
• The Lions are on a three-game winning streak, with all three wins at home.
• In their last matchup, the Lions fought back from a late deficit to take a 78-74 win over UT Tyler.
• Augustine Ene led the Lions in scoring with 21 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with six. It marked the third consecutive game where the Lions’ leading scorer had 21 markers.
• Demarcus Demonia had 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
• Devin Bethely and Dante Adams each scored 11 points.
• The Lions shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the floor and picked up the win despite UT Tyler shooting 50.9 percent (28-of-55).
• There were 11 ties and 17 lead changes in the game, and neither team led by double digits at any point in the game.
CHARITY STRIPE PERFECTION
• The Lions were perfect at the free-throw line in the UT Tyler game on January 23, going 16-of-16 from the charity stripe to establish a school record for made free throws without a miss.
• The previous record of 14-of-14 was set on February 16, 1970, in a 66-64 loss at Sul Ross State.
• This is the third overall perfect free throw night on record, including a 3-for-3 night vs. Angelo State on February 1, 2020.
• This is one of nine games in Division II this season with a perfect conversion rate and 15 or more attempts.
PERIMETER EXCELLENCE
• The Lions have been fantastic in limiting their opposition from converting on three-point attempts, ranking second in the LSC, and 17th nationally with an opponents’ three-point percentage of 28.4.
• This has helped the Lions to rank fourth in the league in scoring defense, as TAMUC allows 72.1 points per game. Since the first game of the season, no team has scored more than 75 points on the Lions.
FIRE AND ICE
• This game will feature two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of scoring.
• A&M-Commerce ranks fourth in the league in scoring defense, allowing 72.1 points per game.
• DBU ranks second in the league in scoring offense at 90.3 points per game.
• Conversely, both teams rank 12th in the LSC in the opposite category, with the Lions scoring 72.8 points per game and the Patriots allowing 80.2 points per game.
• DBU has the league’s leading scorer in Chandler Jacobs (22.1 ppg).
BETHELY DISHES IT OUT
• Senior point guard Devin Bethely is the second in the LSC in assists and third in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• NCAA and LSC stats list statistics rounded to the nearest tenth, with Carson Hughes, Cameron Copley, and Bethely all reading at 2.8, but separated by .06 assist-to-turnover.
LSC ASSIST/TURNOVER
Rk | Player | School | Ast | TO | A/T |
1 | Carson Hughes | DBU | 48 | 17 | 2.82 |
2 | Cameron Copley | LCU | 64 | 23 | 2.78 |
3 | Devin Bethely | TAMUC | 47 | 17 | 2.76 |
4 | JoJo Murray | WT | 33 | 15 | 2.2 |
5 | Lloyd Daniels | LCU | 32 | 15 | 2.1 |
LSC ASSISTS/GAME
Rk | Player | School | Ast | Gm | APG |
1 | Cameron Copley | LCU | 64 | 10 | 6.4 |
2 | Devin Bethely | TAMUC | 47 | 8 | 5.9 |
3 | Daniel Venzant | SEU | 62 | 11 | 5.6 |
4 | JoJo Murray | WT | 33 | 6 | 5.5 |
5 | Carson Hughes | DBU | 48 | 12 | 4.0 |
ALL-TIME vs. DBU
• This is the 27th all-time meeting between these two teams, with A&M-Commerce holding an 18-8 lead in the series.
• The Lions are on a four-game winning streak against the Patriots and have won eight of the last nine games in the series.
• A&M-Commerce rolled to a 102-78 win at DBU last season.
• The Lions are 9-1 all-time against the Patriots in the Field House and have not lost at home to DBU since 1979.
LOOKING AT LION HISTORY
• This is the 32nd time the Lions have played on February 4, with a 15-16 record overall and a 7-7 home record.
• The Lions lost to Eastern New Mexico on this date in 2017, 72-65, at home.
• The Lions are 3-5 on this date in the Field House.
D2SIDA REGIONAL RANKINGS
• The second D2SIDA Regional Rankings of the season has been announced for games through January 17.
• D2SIDA will rank six teams per region this season.
Rk | School (1st) | Rec | Votes |
1 | Colorado School of Mines (2) | 9-0 | 26 |
Lubbock Christian (2) | 10-0 | 26 | |
3 | West Texas A&M (1) | 5-0 | 23 |
4 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 11-1 | 14 |
5 | Dallas Baptist | 10-2 | 8 |
Colorado Mesa | 10-1 | 8 |
CAREER PERCENTAGE LEADERS
• Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg is ranked third in school history in career winning percentage.
Rk | Coach | W | Record |
1. | Bob Rogers | .769 | 113-34 |
2. | Will Hill Acker | .708 | 46-19 |
3. | Jaret von Rosenberg | .676 | 69-33 |
4. | Darrell Tully | .621 | 59-36 |
5. | Dennis Vinzant | .605 | 92-60 |
6. | Sam Walker | .585 | 285-202 |
7. | Norman Pilgrim | .547 | 152-126 |
8. | Paul Peak | .532 | 134-118 |
9. | Jim Gudger | .515 | 202-190 |
10. | Jerry Matthews | .440 | 99-126 |
MOVING UP THE RANKS
• Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg is now eighth all-time in wins at A&M-Commerce.
Rk | Coach | W | Season |
1. | Sam Walker | 285 | 17 (2000-17) |
2. | Jim Gudger | 202 | 14 (1969-82) |
3. | Norman Pilgrim | 152 | 11 (1957-67) |
4. | Paul Peak | 134 | 9 (1991-99) |
5. | Bob Rogers | 113 | 5 (1952-56) |
6. | Jerry Matthews | 99 | 8 (1983-90) |
7. | Dennis Vinzant | 92 | 8 (1937-45) |
8. | Jaret von Rosenberg | 69 | 4 (2017-pr) |
9. | Darrell Tully | 59 | 4 (1946-49) |
10. | Will Hill Acker | 46 | 3 (1928-30) |
They are predicting Lion Soccer to finish seventh in LSC Preseason Poll.
RICHARDSON – They predict the Texas A&M University-Commerce soccer team to finish in seventh place in the Lone Star Conference in the spring 2021 season, as the preseason poll was released Wednesday.
The Lions were 10-8-1 overall and 7-6 in the Lone Star Conference in the fall 2019 season, the last season of competition in women’s soccer.
Six of the Lions’ top seven scorers from the 2019 season will return, as well as the entirety of the starting backline and goalkeeping corps.
The Lions play seven matches in the 2021 spring season, with four of those matches at home. The season opener will be on Wednesday, February 17, at home against DBU.