A&M-Commerce (11-2, 0-1 LSC) vs A&M-Kingsville (5-7, 0-0 LSC)
Wednesday, January 8, 2014 • 7:30 p.m.
The Field House (5,000) • Commerce, Texas
Radio: KETR 88.9 FM • Live Stats • Game Notes (PDF) • Twitter: @Lion_MBB
STORY LINES
• It was not the start to the 2014 calendar that the Lions had envisioned, falling to Midwestern State on Saturday to open up LSC play, but they get another shot to crack the win column in conference play on Wednesday when they host Texas A&M-Kingsville.
• The Javelinas, like the Lions, each had long breaks over the Christmas holidays with neither team playing since December 18. A&M-Commerce had a 17-day layoff that came to an end on Saturday vs Midwestern State, while A&M-Kingsville will finish a 21-day layoff against the Lions, not having played since a 75-71 win over Texas Lutheran
THE LAST TIME OUT
• Despite LaDon Carnegie's 18 points in his return from a two-game absence, the A&M-Commerce Lions could not overcome a hot-shooting Midwestern State bunch in the second half, 84-73.
The Lions, who were returning to action after a 17-day layoff through the Christmas break, put four players in double figures, with Carnegie hitting seven of his 10 shots from the field to lead the way with 18. Tyrie Wooten added 15, Devondrick Walker had 11 and Kameron Price had 10 points and three steals; however, the Mustangs had plenty of firepower of their own, led by DeJuan Plummer's 21-point outburst off the bench, a performance that included hitting five three-point buckets.
UP NEXT
• A&M-Commerce begins a three-game road swing on Saturday when it goes to San Angelo for a meeting with Angelo State. That will be followed by road contests next week at Cameron and Eastern New Mexico.
TEAM QUICK HITS
• The Lions got off to an 8-0 start to the season, the second best start to a season for A&M-Commerce in program history. Currently the squad stands at 11-2 on the year, which is tied the best start through 13 games for the team under head coach Sam Walker, joining the 2004-05 squad that opened the year 12-2.
• A&M-Commerce will be looking to avoid just its second 0-2 start in LSC play in the last eight seasons. The Lions have not had an 0-2 conference start with both losses coming at home since the 1991-92 season, with losses coming to Angelo State and Abilene Christian.
• Halftime deficits have not been much of an issue for A&M-Commerce this season. The Lions have found themselves down at the break of seven of its 13 games, coming back to win in five of those games. It's largest deficit over come of the season was a 15-point margin in its 71-68 win over Henderson State.
Series vs. A&M-KINGSVILLE: TAMUC leads, 63-53
Last 5 Meetings
2012-13 A&M-KINGSVILLE W 77-70
2012-13 at A&M-Kingsville L 75-69
2011-12 A&M-KINGSVILLE L 76-65
2011-12 at A&M-KINGSVILLE L 104-94 (3 OT)
2010-11 A&M-Kingsville W 72-53
Last Meeting
Preston Whitley had 17 points and the Lions made 29 of 40 foul shots to even up its season series with A&M-Kingsville with a 77-70 win at The Field House. The win evened the Lions record at 7-7 in Lone Star Conference play, and avenged a 75-69 loss earlier in the season to the Javelinas. The Lions led by four at the break and turned the ball over just nine times on the night. A&M-Kingsville hit nine triples on the night, but was just 3-for-17 from the free-throw stripe.
Series Notes
The series has belonged to the Javelinas of late, with TAMUK winning nine of the last 12 meetings dating back to the 2004-05 season, including a pair of overtime victories. Fortunately, the Lions will get the Javelinas at The Field House, where they have won two of the last three matchups.
Wall Of Macauley: In addition to his 9.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, A&M-Commerce big man
Christian Macauley has been stellar as the Lions' last line of defense. The junior from Washington D.C. leads the Lone Star Conference with 2.8 blocks per game after adding three more to his season total against Midwestern State. He has at least one block in every game this season for the Lions, with multiple blocks in nine of A&M-Commerce's 13 games to date. Lee Johnson holds the single-season school record with 84 blocks (2.8 bpg), set in 1978-79.
WALKER ADDS TO WIN TOTAL: Head coach Sam Walker became the all-time winningest coach in A&M-Commerce history last season with his 202nd victory, pushing him past former Lion head coach Jim Grudger, and in two less seasons. He now continues to distance himself from the other 19 coaches in Lion history with 217 victories to his credit.
CALLING LONG DISTANCE: The Lions have not been afraid to step out and let it fly from beyond the arc this season with its 292 three-point tries being 20 more than any other team in the LSC. Still, they have managed to be efficient with them too, hitting at a cool 36.3 percent from three-point range, a mark that ranks fourth in the league. A&M-Commerce has made at least 10 threes in six games this year with a season-high 12 in a six-point win over Southern Arkansas on November 13. In all, four Lions with at least 30 three-point tries are hitting better than 36 percent of those shots, led by LaDon Carnegie's league-leading 48.4 percent.
CARNEGIE'S RETURN: Leading scorer LaDon Carnegie made his return to the court on Saturday against Midwestern State after a short two-game layoff due to injury, and he picked up right where he left off. The junior guard pumped in a team-high 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting in 28 minutes. That effort upped his season average to 15.4 points per game, a mark that ranks seventh in the Lone Star Conference.
BROKEN GLASS: The rebounding edge has been one that has gone the Lions' way for the majority of the season, having out-rebounded 10 of its first 12 opponents, and winning all 10 of those games in which it led on the glass. But that was not the case in their 2014 debut on Saturday vs Midwestern State, when the Mustangs owned the boards, finishing with a 52-27 advantage, including 16-5 on the offensive glass. That 25-rebound margin is the largest rebounding margin for a Lion opponent since last season when Midwesetern State had a 26-rebound margin in a 85-67 win.
ACCEPTING CHARITY: The Lions may be putting up more long-distance jumpers than any other team in the Lone Star Conference, but they are still doing their fare share of getting to the foul line. In fact, A&M-Commerce has shot more free throws than its opponent in all but one game, and that game saw both the Lions and Southern Arkansas shoot 34 apiece. In all, the Lions are averaging more than 27 foul shots per game, and rank third in the league with a 72.7 free-throw percentage as a team.
BETTER AS THEY GO: A&M-Commerce has managed to overcome five of six halftime deficits this season for victories, and when you look at the numbers, it is no surprise. Despite lower efficiency from the field and the foul line, the Lions have made 31 more field goals and 99 more foul shots in the second half of games than in the opening period this season.
First Half Second Half
PTS 37.2 49.2
FGs 174/392 205/471
FG% 44.4 43.5
3pt% 39.7 33.1
FTs 80/109 179/247
FT% 73.4 72.5
