A&M-Commerce Lions vs. Southern Arkansas Muleriders
Wednesday, Nov. 13 • 7 p.m.
The Field House • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (2-0); Southern Arkansas (1-0)

Live Video: LionAthletics.com
Radio: KETR 88.9 FM (listen online at KETR.org)
Live Stats: LionAthletics.com
Twitter Updates: Lion_MBB
A&M-Commerce Game Notes (PDF)

Opening Tip
After sweeping a pair of games at the 2013 Region Classic in Lawton, Okla., A&M-Commerce opens up the home portion of its schedule facing Southern Arkansas at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 13th at the Field House. It is the first of 11 home dates for the Lions during the 2013-14 schedule.

Lions on the Web
Fans unable to make it to the Field House for Wednesday's home opener against the Muleriders can still catch every Lion play. KETR 88.9 FM will carry the game live with Charlie Chitwood on the call, and will be streamed online at KETR.org. Live stats are available at LionAthletics.com while Twitter followers can get in-game updates through the A&M-Commerce Men's Basketball Twitter account @Lion_MBB.

Scouting the Muleriders
2013-14: 1-0 overall, 0-0 Great American Conference
Last Week: Defeated Crowley's Ridge College 100-74 in Magnolia, Ark.
Head Coach: Andy Sharpe (Reinhardt, 2002). Second season at Southern Arkansas (11-17, .393)
Key Mulerider Players:
• #32 Jeffrey Walker (So., F): 28.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 86.7 FG%, 50.0 FT%, 1 blk., 2 stl.
• #23 Alre'k Brown (Jr., F): 17.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 77.8 FG%, 50.0 FT%, 6 blk., 2 stl.
• #10 Mike Tomlin (Jr., G): 13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 85.7 FG%, 100.0 FT%,
• #2 Duke Reed (Sr., F): 11.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 50.0 FG%, 71.4 FT%, 1 ast., 1 stl.
• #3 Tre'von Wilkerson (So., G): 7.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 20.0 FG%, 50.0 3FG%, 100.0 FT%, 7 ast., 2 stl.
Synopsis: Southern Arkansas opened up the 2013-14 season with a convincing 100-74 victory over Crowley's Ridge College on Saturday as four players scored in double figures. The Muleriders posted a 10-17 record in 2012-13 and were 6-14 in Great American Conference play, finishing 11th and advancing to the first round of the GAC tournament.

Series Information
A&M-Commerce and Southern Arkansas get together for the 35th time Wednesday evening as the Lions hold a 22-12 (.647) record in the all-time series, bringing a 10-game winning streak into Wednesday. A&M-Commerce recorded the season sweep of Southern Arkansas in 2012-13, defeating the Muleriders 74-67 at the Field House on November 26th before outlasting the Muleriders 96-88 in Magnolia, Ark. on Dec. 19. Head coach Sam Walker has had quite a bit of success against Southern Arkansas, posting a 14-2 (.875) record during his career against the Muleriders including an 8-0 record on the court at the Field House.

A&M-Commerce Opens Season Outlasting UT-Permian Basin, 88-82
A&M-Commerce got the 2013-14 season started off on the right note, outlasting UT-Permain Basin 88-82 at the Regions Classic tournament in Lawton, Okla. A&M-Commerce and UT-Permian Basin exchanged leads throughout the first half before the Lions claimed the halftime lead at 37-34. The Lions then controlled the tempo in the second half, keeping the Falcons at bay to preserve the opening night victory. Senior guard Tyrie Wooten had a career night for A&M-Commerce, recording a personal-best 22 points, thanks in part to his four-of-seven shooting from beyond the three-point line. Four other Lions finished in double figures as well with Devondrick Walker recording 12 points and five rebounds, Kameron Price notching 11 points and newcomers LaDon Carnegie and De'Andre Carson each logging 10 points in their A&M-Commerce debuts.

Lions Use Second Half Surge to Down Aggies, 89-77
Coming off the opening night victory against UT-Permian Basin, A&M-Commerce caught fire in the second half against Okahoma Panhandle State and never looked back, racing past the Aggies 89-77. After a quick start to the game, the Lions and Aggies exchanged baskets through the majority of the first half before Panhandle State took a 46-43 lead heading into halftime. The Aggies extended that lead to five early in the second half, but a 19-4 run by A&M-Commerce gave the Lions the lead for good in the second half before cruising to the double-digit victory.  LaDon Carnegie had an impressive outing for A&M-Commerce, finishing with a game-high 25 points, including hitting all 11 of his free throw attempts. Freshman De'Andre Carson added 17 points as well as the duo was named to the Region Classic All-Tournament team. Kenny Brown posted a double-double for A&M-Commerce, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Tyrie Wooten finished with 11 points and Kameron Price notched 10 points and four assists in the victory.

Carnegie, Carson Named to Region Classic All-Tournament Team
Two bright spots for A&M-Commerce over the weekend was the play of newcomers LaDon Carnegie and De'Andre Carson, both of which had impressive starts to their A&M-Commerce careers. Carnegie had a modest showing against UT-Permian Basin, recording 10 points and three rebounds in his Lion debut, but came out firing against Oklahoma Panhandle State, logging an A&M-Commerce season-high 25 points with three rebounds against the Aggies. Carson, a true freshman, also tallied 10 points to complement his five assists against the Falcons, then notched 17 points against the Aggies, thanks in large part to hitting five of his seven three-point attempts and shooting 75.0% from the floor (6-of-8). The duo was named to the Region Classic all-tournament team as the Lions went 2-0 over the opening weekend.

Wooten Starting Senior Year Strong
One of two returning senior starters for the Lions is guard Tyrie Wooten and he made sure his final year as a Lion started out with a bang. "Juice" notched a career-best 22 points in the victory over UT-Permian Basin Friday evening, then followed that up with an 11-point showing in the win over Oklahoma Panhandle State. Wooten shot 50 percent from both the floor (9-of-18) and beyond the three-point arc (4-of-8).

Lions Strong Against Arkansas Opponents
A&M-Commerce has found a great deal of success against teams from the state of Arkansas in recent years, a streak that head coach Sam Walker hopes continue into the 2013-14 season. The Lions have won 14 of their last 15 games against teams from the Natural State dating back to the 2008-09 season. During that run, the Lions are 6-0 against Southern Arkansas, 3-0 against Henderson State and 3-1 against Ouachita Baptist while posting a 1-0 mark against Arkansas-Fort Smith, Arkansas-Monticello and Harding. In his career against teams from the state of Arkansas, Walker has posted a mark of 27-10 (.730), highlighted by a 14-2 record against the Muleriders.

Walker Against the Great American Conference
A&M-Commerce head coach Sam Walker has historically fared very well against Great American Conference opponents as the Lions' head man has compiled a 64-24 (.727) record against current GAC members. Walker has seen his most success against East Central (15-1) and Southern Arkansas (14-2), while also winning at least 10 games against both Southeastern Oklahoma (13-5) and Southwestern Oklahoma (10-8). A&M-Commerce has four games scheduled against Great American Conference schools in 2013-14 as the Lions will play home-and-home series against both Southern Arkansas and Henderson State.

Lions Picked Eighth in Preseason LSC Poll
A&M-Commerce has been picked to finish eighth in the 2013-14 Lone Star Conference preseason poll, voted on by the league's head coaches, sports information directors and media representatives. The Lions, who have finished eighth in each of the past two seasons, received 53 points, sitting six points back of seventh-place Angelo State and 10 points behind sixth-place Eastern New Mexico. Tarleton State was the preseason favorite, picking up nine first place votes and 166 total points, despite second-place Midwestern State picking up more first place votes (12). With only eight teams remaining in the Lone Star Conference, all eight will advance to the 2014 Lone Star Conference Basketball Championships being held at the Allen Event Center March 5-8.

Looking Ahead
Following Wednesday night's home opener against Southern Arkansas, A&M-Commerce heads back on the road this weekend, competing in the 2013 Tarelton Texan Tip-Off Classic in Stephenville. The Lions play two games in two days, starting off with a meeting against Bloomfield (N.J.) at 2 p.m. on Friday, November 15th. A&M-Commerce then faces St. Edward's at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 16th at Wisdom Gymnasium.

For the complete game notes, click the PDF link above.