Allen, Texas – No. 4 seed A&M-Commerce used a 22-4 run to open the game to boost the Lions over No. 5 West Texas A7m 79-64 in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament in the Allen Event Center following a 25-point, 21-rebound performance by Darrell Williams, whose 21 rebounds set a LSC Tournament single-game record.
 
Williams turned in his second 20-point, 20-rebound game and is just the second player to record two 20-20 games in the NCAA DII.  Williams has now scored in double figures 25 times and scored 20-plus points 15 times.  His 21-rebound game is also the third time this season the senior has hauled down 20 or more rebounds.  He is one of only two players with three or more 20-rebound games.
 
The Lions offensive output through the first eight and a half minutes had A&M-Commerce out to a 22-4 lead.  The lead hit 20 points, 35-15, with 4:10 remaining in the half.  The Lions finished the first 20 minutes up 41-23 after shooting 50 percent overall.  WT meanwhile, was limited to just 38 percent from the floor.
 
WT fought back into the game, but was never able to cut the margin under double figures as A&M-Commerce advanced to Friday's semifinal round with the 79-64 win.  The Lions ended at 48 percent from the floor and 40 percent from long range, while the Buffs percentage dipped to 32 percent overall and 35 percent from behind the arc.
 
Williams finished 10-of-17 from the field and 5-of-7 from the line to earn his 25 points.  A&M-Commerce's spark plug, Everrett Pleasant, tallied his fifth double-digit scoring game with 11 points off the bench.  Pleasant was 4-of-8 from the floor including 1-for-2 from behind the arc.  His made three was only his second triple of the season.  Christian Macauley turned in his typical performance with nine points, eight rebounds and two blocks shots.
 
Tez Dumars paced WT with 25 points on 6-of-14 shooting including a 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.  David Chavlovich trailed with 13 points for the Buffs.
 
The Lions dominated the rebounding battle 47-34 and points in the paint 42-20.
 
A&M-Commerce will take on the top seed Tarleton State (27-2) Friday night at 8:30 p.m. The Lions were swept during the season by the Texans including a 68-48 thumping in the regular season finale in Stephenville five days ago. 
 
The Lions and Texans have met 62 times prior to Friday's meeting with Tarleton State holding a slight advantage in the series 33-29. The Lions hold a 19-17 advantage in LSC games.  Tarleton State has won 11 of the last 12 meetings including two of the three games in 2013-14 and both games in the 2014-15 season.
 
Mo Lee leads the Texans in scoring with 15.3 points per game while shooting 48 percent from the floor and 41 percent from three. Michael Hardge follows averaging 10.1 points per game. Lee is also the team's leading rebounder at 5.0 rebounds per game.  The Texans are currently riding a 14-game winning streak with their last lost coming back on January 7 to Angelo State.
 
Fans can follow all the action from the 2014-15 season on www.LionAthletics.com, through twitter @Lion_Athletics and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LionsAthletics.
 
A&M-Commerce Game Notes
 - A&M-Commerce advanced to the semifinals of the LSC tournament for the second straight season… The Lions are now 26-32 all-time in 37 LSC tournament appearances
 
- The Lions improved to 22-7 overall and to 4-0 on a neutral court and will play at 8:30 p.m. on Friday in the semifinals against Tarleton State… A&M-Commerce went 0-2 against the Texans this season, including a 20-point loss in the regular-season finale
 
- Darrell Williams broke the championship record with 21 rebounds and notched his league-leading 20th double-double of the season with 25 points against the Buffs … It was the third game with 20 rebounds this season and the 21 rebounds matched his career-high which he previously had against Arlington Baptist
 
- The Lions opened the game on a 6-0 run and jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the early stages of the game on a LaDon Carnegie 3-pointer… The early-stage dominance expanded to 16-2 before the Buffs stopped a 10-0 run… A&M-Commerce led 41-23 at halftime and the game never crept into single-digits in the second half
 
- The Lions never trailed in the game and owned the lead for 39:20 after Anthony Adams opened scoring with a layup 40 seconds into action
 
- A&M-Commerce owned a 47-34 rebounding advantage and had a 42-20 advantage in the paint
 
- The Lions went 3-0 against the Buffs this season and have now won five straight games against WT