COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team won its fourth consecutive game to start the season, defeating Southern Arkansas University 84-75 on Tuesday night. The Lions had a 19-point lead early in the second half and withstood a late run to win the game.

The win brings the Lions to 4-0 on the season, SAU falls to 3-2 on the season. This is the Lions' first 4-0 start since the 2013-14 season and the fourth such opening streak under head coach Sam Walker. The Lions and Muleriders will meet up again in late December in Magnolia, Ark.

The Lions hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to Stephenville for a two-game tournament hosted by Tarleton State. The Lions will face Emmanuel (Ga.) College on Friday at 5 p.m. before facing Colorado State-Pueblo on Saturday at 5 p.m. Both games will be played at the Wisdom Gym in Stephenville.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 - Montrell Little led the Lions with 22 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-4 from behind the arc. Trey Seymore had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds to go along with seven assists. Simon Shafack had 14 points for A&M-Commerce.
- Keeton Tennison had 18 points for the Muleriders. Two Muleriders had 13 points.
- The Lions caused 21 Mulerider turnovers and converted them into 23 points. They had 14 steals in the game.
- A&M-Commerce had eight fast break points, 37 bench points and 34 points in the paint.
- Both teams shot less than 70 percent from the free throw line. The Lions shot 27 free throws in the game, making 7-of-8 in the final half.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED 
The Lions scored the first four points of the game before the Muleriders went on a 9-2 run to take an early lead in the first half. After falling behind by five, the Lions responded with a run of their own. They scored 12 of the next 13 points, including two consecutive threes to take a six-point lead. They eventually pushed their lead to eight midway through the half.
 
Both teams played physical in the first half, a tactic that drew a bevy of whistles and increased the intensity of the action. There were 12 foul calls, six for each team, in the first 10 minutes of the half. Multiple players on both teams got into early foul trouble.
 
The Lion lead was pushed to double digits with eight minutes to play in the first half. Both teams struggled from the free throw line in the first half. The Muleriders shot 50 percent on 3-of-6 shooting while the Lions shot 53 percent, going 10-of-19 from the charity stripe in the first half.
 
The teams traded baskets and fouls much of the final ten minutes of the half, keeping the A&M-Commerce lead near ten. The Lions went on a run late in the half. In the final four minutes, the Lions went on a 12-2 run to push their advantage to 15 points at half. The Muleriders went without a point in the final two minutes of the half.
 
There were a total of 26 fouls and four technical fouls in the first half. The Lions shot 55 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three-point line in the first half. SAU shot 42 percent from the field and had 11 turnovers.
 
Little had 13 points in the opening half to lead the Lions, shooting 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Jovan Austin had eight points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field. Seymore had seven points and a team-high five rebounds and five assists. There were 11 assists on 16 made baskets for the Lions, who led 48-33 at halftime.
 
The Lions increased their lead to 19 early in the second half before the Muleriders responded. SAU went on a 14-3 run starting at the 15-minute mark of the second half to cut the lead back down to single digits. The Lions led by eight with 11 minutes remaining in the game.
 
The teams again traded buckets for the next five minutes, with the Lion lead hovering around eight points.
 
With five minutes left in the game, the Muleriders again cut into the lead. The lead dropped to four before Shafack hit a momentum changing three-pointer to start a Lion run. Another technical foul was called on the Muleriders, which the Lions converted into two points and their lead was back up to double digits.
 
In the space of a minute and a half, the Lions scored nine unanswered to put the game away, stretching the lead to 14 with two minutes to play. An emphatic dunk by Malik Albert sealed the win for the Lions.