The Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions men’s basketball team opened up Lone Star Conference competition thursday morning as they defeated the Angelo State Rams, 81-72 in the Commerce Field House.
Head Coach Jaret Von Rosenburg and his squad came ready to play and defend homecourt, although it was not easy versus the squad from West Texas. With the win the Lions (6-2) now havea 50-47 all-time record against the Rams (5-2) following yesterday’s matchup. A&M-Commerce defeated the Rams in their last matchup vs. one another last season as the Lions eliminated the Rams in the LSC tournament quarterfinals at Texas Woman’s University in Denton.
Preseason Player of the Year Reggie Reid led the charge for the Lions with a game-high 20 points and a team-high six rebounds. With Reid leading the way, he also had plenty of help as four more Lions joined him in double figures. The next highest scoring Lion was Deonta Terrell with 15 points, along with 11 points a piece from Trey Conrod and Willie Rooks. Nine out of the ten Lions that saw action scored in the contest, displaying an all-around effort from A&M-Commerce.
The turning point in the game came when the Lions regained the lead late in the second half with under a minute and a half to go. Reid, after being fouled by ASU’s James Kirksey, stepped up and knocked down a pair of free throws to go up by two points,and the Lions did not look back as they closed out the game on a 9-1 run. Shooting was not a problem for A&M-Commerce in the matchup, but it was for the Rams as the Lions forced Angelo State to have trouble with early on.
The Rams started the game 5-for-18 from the field which helped the Lions maintain a steady lead for the first fourteen minutes of the game, but it was snatched away by the Rams as they caught fire later in the first half. The Rams maintained that lead unitlthe final two minutes of the game where they had the lead and game taken back by the Lions.
Angelo State was led in scoring by a pair of seniors, James Kirksey and Antonio Singleton who both had 13 points. Teammate Ronald Bell was a big contributor for Head Coach Cinco Boone on offense with the lone double-double in the game posting 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Next Matchup: The Lions remain at home for their next game as they battle the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Javelinas. Game begins at 4 p.m. in the A&M-Commerce Field House and can be heard on the Lion Sports Network at www.ketr.org or 88.9 FM.