Lions prevail, 65-62, over Cardinals, punch ticket to SLC Semifinals.

LAKE CHARLES, La. – Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch aided the fifth-seeded Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s basketball team to hold on for the 65-62 win over the fourth-seeded UIW Cardinals in the Southland Conference tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon at the Legacy Center. 

The Lions did not make a field goal for the final 6:33 of the game but made seven of eight shots at the line to punch their fifth straight ticket to the semifinal round of the conference tournament by beating the Cardinals, who won the Southland tournament last season. 

A&M-Commerce faces top-seeded Southeastern on Wednesday morning at 11:00, with a trip to the championship game on the line. 

DesiRay Kernal (Newton, Kan.) scored 20 or more while leading the team in assists and rebounds for the second straight game. Laila Lawrence (Lewisville) scored 13 points. The Lions have won at least two postseason games in the last four seasons.

UIW made its first three-pointers, and after missing its first field goal attempt of the game, it made the next six to go up 15-11. However, a scoring drought of 3:58 and a 6-0 run allowed the Lions to tie the game at 15 at the end of the first quarter. 

Both teams did not score a point for the first three minutes of the second quarter. The scoring drought for the Cardinals continued well into the second quarter as their first point came at the 5:29 mark, missing 11 field goal attempts in a row. 

The scoring drought for the Cardinals was eight minutes and 42 seconds of game action. UIW scored just six points in the second quarter, which is the lowest total allowed by the Lions in a quarter this season. A&M-Commerce led 27-21 at halftime with eight points from Lawrence and seven from Kernal. 

The Lions shot 71.4 percent to start the third quarter and led by as much as 10 in the third. Mia Deck (Frisco – Lone Star) converted an and-one at the end of the third quarter to give the Lions a 46-37 lead going into the fourth. The Lions shot 8 for 11 in the third, while UIW shot 6 for 13 from the field. 

The Cardinals cut the lead to five by going on a 10-0 run and holding the Lions scoreless for four minutes and 22 seconds in the fourth. A&M-Commerce missed four field goals during that stretch. The Lions’ last made field goal in the game came at the 6:33 mark of the fourth, but they made seven of their eight free throw attempts during that stretch to hold on for the win. 

UIW made its first three shots from a distance but shot 5 for 19 and snapped its six-game losing streak. 

Kernal tallied 20 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a steal, while Deck added 17 points, three steals, two rebounds, and a steal. Lawrence scored 11 with six rebounds and three assists. Olivia Russell (Auburn Hills, Mich.) and Zaria Collins (Plano) scored six each, with Russell tallying five rebounds and Collins grabbing six. 

Nina De Leon Negron and Jorja Elliott scored 19 points for the Cardinals.

Louvier and Boykin, Jr. Named Assistant Football Coaches

 

COMMERCE – Texas A&M University-Commerce Football coach Clint Dolezel has announced hiring Nick Louvier and Jarrett Boykin, Jr. as assistant coaches on the Lions staff. Louvier will coach the running backs, while Boykin, Jr. will oversee the wide receivers.

Louvier comes to Commerce after spending last season as the running backs coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He added recruiting coordinator to his title for the 2023 recruiting class. Louvier spent a season at Jackson Academy before coming to Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Louvier graduated from Mississippi State with a degree in business marketing.

Boykin, Jr. joins the Lions after spending last season as the receivers coach at Murray State. Before his year at Murray State, he worked at Wingate for a year and as a quality control coach at Charlotte.

Boykin, Jr. comes to Commerce with extensive playing experience, spending four seasons as a wide receiver at Virginia Tech. His best season was his junior year, with 861 yards and six touchdowns. After that, he spent five seasons in the NFL and scored three touchdowns. During his NFL career, he spent time with Jacksonville, Green Bay, Carolina, and Buffalo.

The Lion football team opens spring practices on March 20. The annual Blue and Gold Spring Game is April 22. 

Photo – Jamie Bustos

Lions shoot five under on Tuesday for seventh at Colin Montgomerie Invite.

SUGAR LAND – Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team shot the second-best score as a team on Tuesday at Sweetwater Golf Club to take seventh place at the Colin Montgomerie Invitational and Nathan McCulloch tied for 10th on the player leaderboard. 

Three of the five Lion golfers scored under par on Tuesday, led by a three-under 69 by Balint Zavaczki (hometown), who finished in a tie for 28th place with a score of 218 (77-72-69), while Chance Mulligan (Dallas – Bishop Dunne) tied for 59th place with a score of 71 on Tuesday and carded a total of 226 (80-75-71). 

McCulloch (Edinburgh, Scotland) shot a 73 in the third round and finished the tournament with a score of 211 (68-70-73), tying with four other golfers. Elsewhere for the Lions, Simon Haas (Lorch, Germany) tied for 21st with a score of 216 (71-73-72), while Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk (Phuket, Thailand) carded a round of 71. Unfortunately, he finished last, as they disqualified his second round. 

Coach Brian Dolehide said, “We saw big improvements from everyone this week. We started slow in our first round, but moving into the second and third rounds, the guys made some good adjustments and finished strong. Looking forward to working hard these next few weeks building up to The Big Texan!” 

Weber State shot eight under par on Tuesday to post a team score of 845 and won the tournament, hosted by HCU, over UIW by six strokes. Tarleton’s Jack Anderson won the individual title with a score of 204 (68-66-70), two strokes better than Nicholls’ Ryan O’Neil and HCU’s Marcus Wochner. 

UP NEXT

The Lions have two more competitions before the conference championships next month. A&M-Commerce is next in action on March 27-28 in Kerrville at The Big Texan, hosted by UTRGV.

Pos.	Team	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Total
1	Weber State	282	283	280	845
2	UIW	289	277	285	851
3	Tarleton	286	281	287	854
4	Nicholls	287	280	291	858
5	Southeastern	276	286	298	860
6	Missouri State	286	290	288	864
7	A&M-COMMERCE	292	290	283	865
8	Stephen F. Austin	289	290	287	866
9	HCU	281	289	300	870
10	Omaha	291	291	292	874
11	UTRGV	296	292	294	882
12	Texas Southern	292	298	299	889
13	Prairie View A&M	299	299	295	893
14	North Dakota	298	295	305	898
15	HCU ‘B’	302	315	294	911

 

7	A&M-COMMERCE	292	290	283	865
T10	Nathan McCulloch	68	70	73	211
T21	Simon Haas	71	73	72	216
T28	Balint Zavaczki	77	72	69	218
T59	Chance Mulligan	80	75	71	226
–	Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk	76	DQ	71	–