Central Oklahoma 71, A&M-Commerce 60
St. Edward's University – Austin, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (0-1), Central Oklahoma (1-0)
Up Next: at St. Edward's – Saturday, Nov. 9 – 3 p.m.

AUSTIN, Texas – After claiming an early lead, A&M-Commerce ran into an extended scoreless drought midway through the opening half which put the Lions in a bind as the late comeback comes up short, falling to Central Oklahoma 71-60 in the opening game of the 2013 Calvin Townes Memorial Classic, hosted by St. Edward's.

"We just didn't play a very consistent game, and a horrible first half cost us," said head coach Nicole Anderson. "We got outrebounded in the first half, something which rarely happens to this team, and then we hit that extended streak where we couldn't score and it allowed UCO to take the lead. We played much better in the second half, but we need to do that consistently for the entire game."

A&M-Commerce shot just 28.6 percent from the floor for the game, compared to 40.0 percent for Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos outrebounded the Lions 49-48, but A&M-Commerce did hold a 20-11 edge on the offensive glass.

Senior Breanna Harris led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds, all of which came in the second half as she was shut out in both categories through the first 20 minutes. Senior Shanekqua Bibbs had her best game as a Lion, finishing with 16 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists off the bench.

Sophomore Symone Brown also was productive off the bench, finishing with seven points and five rebounds while junior Devin Oliver notched six points, four rebounds and a team-high four assists on the afternoon.

Seeing its first action of 2013-14, A&M-Commerce matched baskets with Central Oklahoma early in the game, led by a pair of key baskets from Oliver. Leading 15-12 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the half, the Lions struggled to find their scoring touch, going nearly six minutes as the Bronchos put together a 20-2 run to surge out to a 32-17 lead late in the half.

The Lions settled down near the end of the half, chipping away slightly into the Central Oklahoma lead but still trailed 38-25 heading into the halftime break.

Central Oklahoma continued to maintain its lead early in the second half, extending its lead to as many as 20 at 47-27 with 15:14 remaining in the game. But A&M-Commerce continued to show its resilience, stringing together a 10-0 run of its own, led by six points from Harris and a big three-point shot from Bibbs, cutting the deficit to 47-37 with 11:59 to play.

Central Oklahoma pulled ahead by 17 at 60-43 with just under 6:00 remaining in the game and appeared in control, leading by 13 with just under four minutes to play. A&M-Commerce would trim the UCO lead to nine off back-to-back three-pointers from Brown and Bibbs with under a minute to go, then pull to within seven in the waning seconds, but the hole proved too deep to climb out of as the Lions dropped the season opener 71-60.

A&M-Commerce will have little time to think about the loss as the Lions return to the court in less than 24 hours, facing host St. Edward's at 3 p.m. Saturday, November 9th. Links to live video and live stats are available at LionAthletics.com.