SAN ANGELO – The No. 9 Texas A&M University-Commerce Lions scored the game's final 55 points on the way to a 62-14 rout of Angelo State University at LeGrand Stadium on Saturday night.
 
With the runaway victory, the Lions are now 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the Lone Star Conference, while ASU falls to 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the league.
 
The Lions return to Commerce next week for the annual Homecoming contest, hosting West Texas A&M for a 4 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, October 29.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions scored four of their final six touchdowns on defense and special teams in the second half.
- Kieston Carter had two fumble recoveries, returning the first of them 12 yards for a touchdown.
- Jaylon Edwards-Cooper returned an interception 52 yards for a score. The Lions now have 12 interceptions on the season by 11 different players.
- B.J. Mills capped the scoring with a 49-yard fumble recovery for a score.
- Shawn Hooks had his second punt return for a touchdown in as many weeks, bringing a punt back 54 yards for a score in the third quarter.
- Ovie Urevbu had his first career 100-yard rushing performance with 105 yards on 17 carries.
- Luis Perez completed 20-of-33 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns.
- Justice Luce led the team with eight catches for 125 yards and a score.
- Lance Evans had three catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
- Hector Dominguez averaged 37.8 yards per punt with two inside the Rams' 20.
- Kristov Martinez was a perfect 8-of-8 on PAT attempts and made field goals of 32 and 41 yards.
- Hatari Byrd was the Lions' leading tackler with eight stops.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite the lopsided final score, the game was close in the first half, with the Rams leading into the latter stages of the second quarter.
 
The Lions opened the scoring on the first drive of the game, going 75 yards in six plays, with a 41-yard scoring pass from Perez to Evans starting the scoring. The Rams tied the game on the first play of their second drive to make it 7-7 with 7:34 left in the first quarter.
 
ASU took the lead with 35 seconds left in the first quarter, with Trey Green scoring from 9 yards out to end an 11-play, 80-yard drive and put the Lions in a 14-7 hole.
 
Martinez' 32-yard field goal with 11:03 left in the half cut the disadvantage to four points, and a diving stretch to the endzone by Evans on a 14-yard completion with 6:14 left in the half gave the Lions the lead for good. A 41-yard field goal by Martinez with :03 on the second quarter clock made it a 20-14 halftime advantage.
 
The Lions were forced to punt on their first drive of the second half, but a hard hit by Brent Walker popped the ball loose from the ASU returner. Carter picked the ball up at the 12 and scored to push the lead to 27-14.
 
After ASU punted on its ensuing drive, Hooks scampered for a 54-yard return touchdown, suddenly putting the Lion lead at 34-14.
 
The rout continued into the fourth quarter. Perez found Luce for a 6-yard touchdown completion to make it a 41-14 advantage with 12:56 to play. Two plays into the ASU drive, Edwards-Cooper snagged his interception and ran 52 yards to paydirt and make it a 48-14 lead.
 
The Lions forced an ASU punt, and a poor snap followed by an ill-advised punt ended up with a negative yardage punt and excellent field position. Tristen Slaughter capped the 26-yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown carry to push the lead to 55-14 with 9:08 to play.
 
The scoring ended when Mills scooped up an errant snap and ran to the endzone from 49 yards out for the fourth non-offense touchdown of the night by A&M-Commerce.