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TAMUC – Sports

Lion Football closes out the season on Senior Day against Tennessee State.

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce football team concludes its season on Saturday afternoon when it hosts Tennessee State as part of Senior Day, which begins at 1:30 pm. A win gives the Lions their ninth consecutive winning season. 

WHO: Tennessee State at A&M-Commerce

WHERE: Commerce | Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium

WHEN: Saturday, November 19 | 2:00 pm

RECORDS: The Lions are 5-5 overall, and the Tigers are 3-7. This game is part of the Southland OVC scheduling alliance.  

RANKINGS: Neither national poll has ranked the teams. 

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)

LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/espnplus/catalog/01209caa-9a9a-4275-b784-c8cdff2fbd7c/southland-conference#bucketId=29804$$sourceCollection=Browse_By_Conference_%28ESPN+%29

LIVE STATS: http://statb.us/b/410407

TICKETS: LionAthletics.com/tickets

GAME NOTES: TAMUC (PDF) | TSU (PDF)

 A&M-COMMERCE OFFICIALLY JOINS NCAA DIVISION I AND THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE

• After 90 successful years as charter members of the Lone Star Conference, the Lions begin a historic transition to NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference. It is the first time the Lions are changing conferences since 1931.

• The Lions play an 11-game schedule during its first season in NCAA Division I FCS. The Lions are eligible to win the Southland Conference, though they are not eligible for the NCAA Playoffs during the four-year transition period.

• Winners of the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship, the Lions’ football program also won the 1972 NAIA national championship. Other national championships have included men’s basketball (NAIA 1954-55), men’s golf (NAIA 1965), and men’s tennis (NAIA 1972 and 1978). Prominent student-athletes at A&M-Commerce include NFL stars Harvey Martin, Wade Wilson, Dwight White, and U.S. Olympic medalist John Carlos.

 

A trip to SMU next for Lion Women’s Basketball

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team concludes its trip around Texas on Friday night when it faces SMU in Moody Coliseum. 

WHO: A&M-Commerce at SMU

WHERE: Dallas | Moody Coliseum

WHEN: Friday, November 18 | 7:00 pm

RECORDS: The Lions and the Mustangs are both 1-2 on the season.

RANKINGS: They have not ranked either team in either national poll. 

LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)

LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/search/_/q/smu/o/watch/appearance/dark

LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/v/tame/433286

GAME NOTES: TAMUC (PDF)

 

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS

• The Mustangs are 0-2 on the season, but both losses have come on the road to Big XII opponents. SMU lost to Baylor by three points on Tuesday.

• SMU is picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference this season, going 14-15 in 2021-22, and played in the WNIT after advancing to the semifinals of the AAC Tournament.

• Chantae Embry is the team leader with a scoring average of 18.0 through three games and also leads in rebounding with an average of 7.5.

 QUICK GLANCE AT THE LIONS

• A&M-Commerce fell to UT-Arlington by three points on Saturday and lost at Houston on Tuesday night. Friday’s game completes a three-game road trip for A&M-Commerce.

• Mia Deck led the way for the Lions in Houston with 12 points, while Laila Lawrence had 12, all coming in the second half. Olivia Russell grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench.

• The Lions are picked to finish fifth in their first Southland Conference season. They also received a first-place vote. Common opponents between A&M-Commerce and SMU include Houston and UIW.

 BRAND NEW WATERS

• The Lions are in the first season in NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference.

• This is the first time the Lions are changing conferences for the first time in program history.

 WE MEET AGAIN

• The Lions and the Mustangs meet for the second straight season. SMU won 66-58 in an exhibition game in Dallas last season. 

 SHE’S UNSTOPPABLE

• Dyani Robinson continued right where she left off with a scoring average of 19.0 points per game to start the season and is this week’s SLC Player of the Week.

• Last season, she was a first-team All-American, TABC Small College Player of the Year, D2CCA South Central Region Most Outstanding Player of the Year, and Lone Star Conference Player of the Year.

 ENDED ON A HIGH NOTE

• The Lions ended their Division II era with four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and won an NCAA Tournament game in each of the last two seasons.

• A&M-Commerce has five postseason appearances in program history, with four coming in the last four seasons.

• The Lions were ranked as high as No. 1 in the D2SIDA rankings and No. 2 in the WBCA rankings last season.

 HE’S DONE THIS ONCE OR TWICE

• Coach Jason Burton is in his second stint in the Southland Conference.

• Burton was an assistant coach at Texas State from 2011-13 on the men’s side.

 BURTON GETS WIN NO. 150

• Coach Jason Burton, the Lions’ all-time wins leader, secured his 150th career win on 2/12/22 at UT-Tyler.

 ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION

• Dyani Robinson was named the LSC Player of the Year. She is among four all-LSC honors last season

• Laila Lawrence earned the Sixth Woman of the Year award while also being named to the All-Freshman team and All-LSC Third Team

• DesiRay Kernal made it on the second team, and former Lions Chania Wright made the third team.

 CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Dyani Robinson was the third LSC Player of the Year in program history, joining Britney Jordan and Kanani Marshall.

Chased 20 wins

• A win on 2/12/22 against UT Tyler gave the Lions 20 wins for the fifth time in program history.

• The previous 20-win seasons came in 2006-07, 2016-17, 2018-19, and 2019-20.

 ROBINSON REACHES THE 1K MARK

• Dyani Robinson reached the 1,000 career points mark on Saturday. She needed 11 points against the Falcons.

 STARTING OUT STRONG

• A&M-Commerce’s 11-0 start to last season was the second time in three seasons that the Lions started 11-0 or better.

 REACHING THE CENTURY MARK

• A&M-Commerce scored 100 points against Midwestern State on 1/23/22, the third time they reached the 100-point mark.

• The Lions had never scored 100 points in a game three times in a single season before this year.

• Earlier this season, the Lions scored 100 points or more against Arkansas-Monticello and SAGU.

• Entering the season, they had only scored 100 points or more eight times.

 40 UNDER 40

• Coach Jason Burton made Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball’s 40 Under 40 list last season. The all-time wins leader at the helm of the Lion Women’s basketball program in his ninth year.

SOUTHLAND MEMBERS IN 2022-23

Institution Offers Women’s Basketball?
A&M-COMMERCE YES
Houston Christian Yes
Incarnate Word Yes
Lamar Yes
McNeese State Yes
New Orleans Yes
Nicholls State Yes
Northwestern State Yes
Southeastern Louisiana Yes
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Yes

The Lions head east for the Capitol Classic

COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team is headed east to Atlanta this weekend to play three games at the Capitol Classic hosted by Georgia State. 

LIONS’ WEEKEND SCHEDULE

DATE & TIME GAME WATCH LIVE STATS
Friday, Nov. 18
8:30 p.m. EST (7:30 p.m. CST)
A&M-Commerce vs. UNC Asheville No video webcast https://statb.us/v/tame/436837 
Saturday, Nov. 19
7 p.m. EST (6 p.m. CST)
A&M-Commerce at Georgia State ESPN+ | https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=f6628baf-f44b-4a0d-8a32-3649841a53ad http://statb.us/b/378035
Sunday, Nov. 20
1 p.m. EST (Noon CST)
A&M-Commerce at Eastern Kentucky No video webcast https://statb.us/v/tame/436839

TAMUC GAME NOTES (PDF)

A HISTORIC FIRST WIN
• A&M-Commerce collected its first win in NCAA Division I on Monday night, prevailing in overtime over Air Force.
• The Lions trailed by as much six points in overtime, but sealed the win via a dunk by Demarcus Demonia.
• The Lions moved up nine spots in the KenPom rankings following the win.

THEY WERE CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
• The Lions played two close games to start the season, but failed to secure the win in both games.
• In the loss at Northern Colorado, the Lions had two chances to tie the game in the final minute, but could not get the shot in the net.
• Season-opening game at SMU was tied with 13 minutes left in the second half before the Mustangs pulled away.

THE COMEBACK CATS
• A&M-Commerce fell behind 15-0 to start the game against Northern Colorado and trailed by as much as 20 in the first half.
• The Lions fought all the way back to make it a one-point game in the final minute and had a chance to take the lead against Northern Colorado.

UNCHARTERED TERRITORY
• A&M-Commerce is in its first Division I season and the Southland Conference.
• The Lions are coming off four NCAA Tournament appearances in their last six chances to close out the Division II era.
• This is the first time A&M-Commerce has switched classifications since moving up from NAIA to NCAA Division II in 1980s.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE BULLDOGS
• A&M-Commerce and UNC Asheville have met once prior to this seoson and it came in 1974.
• A&M-Commerce collected a 101-78 win in Asheville on December 6, 1974.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE PANTHERS
• This is the first meeting between A&M-Commerce and Georgia State.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE COLONELS
• A&M-Commerce and Eastern Kentucky meet for the first time on Sunday.

LIONS APPEAR IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
• The Lions are ranked No. 297 in the KenPom rankings going into the Capitol Classic, which is third best in the Southland.

LIONS PICKED SEVENTH IN THE SLC
• A&M-Commerce was picked to finish seventh in the Southland Conference, as voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
• The Lions tallied 56 points in the rankings, a point better than Houston Christian.

RE-TOOLED ROSTER
• The Lions return just one starter from a year ago in Demarcus Demonia.
• This season’s roster features six new transfers and four freshmen.
• Of the six transfers, three come from other Division I schools and three come from the Junior College level.
• The Lion freshmen come to Commerce from all over the country including Texas, Minnesota, and New Jersey.

YOUNG AND HAPPY
• Based on our research, A&M-Commerce’s coaching staff is the youngest in NCAA Division I this season with a combined age of 128 among head coach Jaret von Rosenberg and assistant coaches Coleman FurstYolonzo Moore, and Ted Rawlings.