COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team ran away with a 129-65 win over Dallas Christian College on Saturday night. After playing even with the Crusaders for the first nine minutes, the Lions dominated the rest of the game to get the win.
The win brings the Lions to 3-0 on the season. DCC falls to 0-11 on the season.
The Lions will finish their four-game home stand on Tuesday against Southern Arkansas University. The game will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Field House.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions had six players in double figures.
Isaac Asrat led the Lions with 18 points.
Daquane Willford had 16 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Simon Shafack and
Trey Seymore had 15 points.
De'Andre Carson had 14 points and
Dorian Armstrong had 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
- The Lions trailed 22-20 with 11 minutes left in the first half. They then proceeded to outscore DCC 109-43 in the final 31 minutes.
- The Lions had 18 offensive rebounds and 25 second chance points. They had 68 points in the paint, 27 fast break points and 71 points off of the bench.
- A&M-Commerce caused 27 turnovers and scored 41 points off of turnovers.
- The Lions shot 60 percent from the field and came four points shy of setting the all-time record for most points in a game in school history.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams stayed close for the first five minutes of the game. The Crusaders caused some Lion turnovers that they converted into points. DCC also started well from the field, shooting over 50 percent in the first nine minutes, going 7-13 from the three-point line to build a 22-20 lead in the first nine minutes of the game.
The Lions began to pull away in the final nine minutes of the half. They began to see their shots fall, finding layups in transition and sharing the basketball. They also tightened up their close outs on defense.
The Lions also began to cause turnovers, turning the giveaways into easy points in transition and from the free throw line. They pushed their lead to double digits with six minutes to go in the half.
Armstrong was a force for the Lions inside, swatting away shot after shot. He had three blocks in the first 14 minutes of the game.
Seymore began to help the Lions pull away. He had 10 points in the first half, getting points in transition and running the floor. The Lions also started to dominate on the boards. They had 14 offensive rebounds in the first half and 28 overall rebounds, compared to 11 for DCC.
The Lions went ahead by 20 points late in the first half. Shafack had an impact late in the first half. He ended the half with nine points on 3-4 shooting from the field and 3-3 from the line. Carson also finished the half strong, hitting two 3-pointers in the closing minutes. The Lions led 62-33 at halftime, finishing the half on a 16-0 run in the final four minutes.
Keldon Williams had 12 points on 4-6 shooting from three for the Crusaders. Seymore led the Lions with 10 points. Shafack and Carson each had nine points. Armstrong had six points and six rebounds.
The Crusaders broke their scoreless streak with a layup early in the second half. But it was much of the same in the second half for A&M-Commerce. Asrat was hitting his shots in the second half. He had eight points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Willford finished strong in the second half, scoring 12 of his 16 points in the final 20 minutes of the game.
The Lions steadily built their lead, leading by as many as 68 late in the game. The Lions emptied their bench in the final minutes of the game and won 129-63.
