Stephenville, Texas – Jeremy Jones turned in his best performance of the season catapulting A&M-Commerce to its first win in Stephenville since the 2008-09 season with a career-high 24 points in the Lions 67-65 win over No. 22 Tarleton State Saturday afternoon in Wisdom gym.
 
Turning Point
- With the possession and leading 62-61 with 1:16 left to play, the Lions committed a turnover that led to a Tarleton Start three from the left corner to give the Texans only their third lead of the game, 64-62, with 1:13 remaining. After an A&M-Commerce timeout, Jones drove the length of the floor and was fouled sending the senior guard to the free throw line.  Jones calmly hit both triples in the despite the hostile Texan crowd.  After an A&M-Commerce defensive stand, Bryant Crowder hauled down an offensive rebound and was fouled sending him to the line with 16 seconds left. Crowder, who entered the game at 52.9 percent from the free throw line but had gone 7-of-9 from the charity stripe in the contest, hit both of his freebies from the stripe to give the Lions two-point lead, 66-64.  On the ensuing Tarleton State possession, the TSU's EJ Reed was fouled and sent to the line. Reed hit one of his two attempts forcing a quick Tarleton State foul following the miss on the second attempt. Jones, who grabbed the rebound, hit one of his two attempts. Before Tarleton could get off a game-tying or game-winning shot the Loins came away with the game-saving steal.
 
Highlights
- Jones tallied his 24 points after going 9-of-15 from the floor including three, 3-pointers.
 
- Crowder followed with 15 points despite going 3-of-8 from the floor thanks to his 9-of-11 shooting at the free throw line.
 
- Ronnie White chipped in with 12 points after going 4-of-7 from the field.
 
- White, Crowder and Everrett Pleasant each grabbed seven rebounds.
 
- The Lions shot 42 percent from the field, while the Texans went 40 percent overall. A&M-Commerce held a narrow advantage from the outside, 36 percent compared to 35 percent, but the Texans had more 3-point field goal makes, seven compared to four.  The Lions owned the free throw line after attempting more free throws than Tarleton State made. A&M-Commerce went 23-of-30 from the line for 77 percent, while TSU was 14-of-21 from the stripe.
 
- A&M-Commerce led for 37:15, while Tarleton State only had the lead for three times for 55 seconds of game time.
 
Quotable
- "Phenomenal team win tonight. It was great to see us back supporting each other like good teams do. Jeremy Jones hit some big shots for us tonight, but Anthony Adams defensive was incredible." – A&M-Commerce head coach Sam Walker.
 
Inside the box score
- With the win, the Lions improve to 14-6 on the season and 3-4 in the Lone Star Conference. The win also snaps a four-game LSC losing streak and a five-game losing streak to the Texans in Stephenville.
 
- The Lions have knocked off two ranked teams on their home floors for the first time in program history from available records.  A&M-Commerce topped then ranked No. 4 Angelo State 93-88 in San Angelo on January 9.
 
- Anthony Adams scored seven points, but left his mark on the game on the defensive end. Adams held the Texan's Michael Hardge, who entered the game averaging 11.5 points per game, to an 0-for-5 shooting night. He also forced the LSC's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio into four turnovers.
 
- With his 12 points, White has scored in double digits in back-to-back games after notching 14 against Arlington Baptist. He picks up his first double-digit game against an LSC opponent since scoring 12 points at then ranked No. 4 Angelo State.
 
Summary
1st Half
- A&M-Commerce sprinted out to a nine point lead, 13-4, with 14:42 left in the first half thanks to a pair of early 3-pointers from Jones. 
 
- The Lions stayed out of reach and took the lead out to double-digits, 29-19, for the first time in the game with 5:32 remaining in the frame after Jones' third triple of the game.
 
- A&M-Commerce kept their foot on the peddle over the final minutes of the half with an 11-6 run to take a 12 point lead, 37-25, into the intermission.
 
2nd Half
- Coming out the half, the Lions extended the gap to 14 points following two White free throws less than a minute back into action.  Three minutes later, the Lions held an 11-point lead, 45-34, following an Adams three.
 
- The Adams triple would the last basket for the Lions for the next 5:24 as the Texans mounted a 9-0 trimming the margin down to two points, 45-43, before White stopped the Lions drought with a jumper from the free throw line with 10:33 left to play.
 
- A minute after White's bucket, Tarleton State took its first lead of the game on a three pointer, but Jones answered right back for the Lions. The two teams went blow for blow to set up for the exciting finish down the stretch.
 
What's Next?
- The Lions will return to The Field House Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. against Cameron. The Aggies have won their last four straight including an upset win of their own topping No. 6 Midwestern State 80-75 in their last game moving them into first place in the LSC.  The Aggies have defeated three ranked teams this season after knocking off then ranked No. 5 Drury 72-70 back on November 27 and shocking then ranked No. 11 Angelo State 80-79 on November 20.  For the third time this season, the Lions will face the top ranked team in the Lone Star Conference.
 
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