A&M-Commerce 69, Ouachita Baptist 56
Location: The Field House • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (4-2); Ouachita Baptist (2-1)
Up Next: vs. Southern Arkansas • Monday, Nov. 26 • 7 p.m. • The Field House
COMMERCE, Texas – Four Lions scored in double figures as A&M-Commerce raced out to a 20-point advantage early in the second half and never looked back, downing Ouachita Baptist 69-56 at the Field House. The Lions improve to 4-2 on the year and 2-0 at home, handing the Tigers their first loss of the season.
Tyrie Wooten led A&M-Commerce in scoring with 14 points, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, with three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Andrew Davis added 12 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season while Stefon Carson finished with 11 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals.
Preston Whitley just missed recording a double-double on the night, posting 10 points with eight rebounds and three assists. Devondrick Walker added nine points and four rebounds for the Lions with Kenny Brown notching six points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Looking to build off its eight-point victory over UT-Permain Basin Saturday night, A&M-Commerce once again raced out to a fast start, building a 10-3 lead over Ouachita Baptist through the first six minutes of play. Leading 13-8, the Lions found their spark on both ends of the court, using a 9-0 run spanning just under three minutes to build a commanding 22-8 advantage on the Tigers.
A&M-Commerce maintained a double digit lead for the majority of the first half with Ouachita Baptist briefly pulling to within nine at 28-19. But the Lions notched the final four points of the first half to take a comfortable 32-19 lead into the locker room.
That momentum carried over into the second half as A&M-Commerce notched eight of the first nine points, capped by a dunk by Walker to double up Ouachita Baptist 40-20 with 17:22 remaining in the game. The Lions would lead by as many as 21 at 43-22 off a three-pointer from Whitley and the rout was on.
Ouachita Baptist was able to dwindle the A&M-Commerce lead to as little as 10 at 48-38 off a 16-5 run, but the deficit proved to be too big to handle as the A&M-Commerce lead never dipped below 10, increasing to as many as 19 at 63-44 before settling in for the 69-56 decision.
Neither team shot particularly well from the floor as A&M-Commerce hit just 38.5 percent of its shots, compared to 36.4 percent for Ouachita Baptist. The Tigers held an advantage from the free throw line, making 60.0 percent of their attempts compared to just 52.4% for the Lions, but the biggest discrepancy on the night was from the three-point arc as A&M-Commerce was 8-of-17 (47.1%) while Ouachita Baptist hit just four of their 18 attempt (22.2%).
Ouachita Baptist never seriously threatened throughout the game as their only lead was at 1-0 in the opening two minutes. Julian LaDay led the Tigers with a game-high 21 points while Nigel Ramsey added 11 points. Austin Mitchell and Micah Delph both finished with eight points for Ouachita Baptist.
A&M-Commerce can now enjoy a few days off for Thanksgiving break before returning to the court at the Field House on Monday, November 26th facing Southern Arkansas. Last year's contest with the Muleriders was a nailbiter as LaBree Sledge hit a layup with less than a second to go to propel the Lions to the 76-74 victory. Opening tip against Southern Arkansas is set for 7 p.m. with live video and live statistics available at LionAthletics.com.
