COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team got its first conference win on Saturday, defeating Midwestern State University 73-60. The Lions slowly built a lead and withstood the runs of the Mustangs to get the win.
 
The win brings the Lions to 7-1 on the season and 1-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs fall to 6-3 and 0-2 in conference play.
 
The game was the Lions' final home game of 2016. They will play their next seven games on the road. They next play on Thursday against Eastern New Mexico at 8:30 p.m. CST. The game will be played at the Greyhound Arena in Portales, N.M. The Lions' next home game is set for Jan. 16.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Trey Washington led all scorers with 14 points for the Lions on 5-of-11 shooting from the field. He also co-led the Lions with three steals.
- De'Andre Carson had 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc. He scored all of his points in the first half. He added five rebounds and four assists.
- Trey Seymore had 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
- Malik Albert had eight points and led the Lions with eight rebounds and five assists. He also had a block and three steals.
- The Lions had their best showing of the season from the free throw line, shooting 88 percent on 17 attempts. They also shot 39 percent from three and 44 percent from the field.
- The Lions had 29 points off of 23 Mustang turnovers. They had 12 fast break points and 38 points from their bench.
- Pat Smith and Brandon Neel each had 14 points to lead MSU. Igor Ibaka had 11 points and Devante Pullum had 10 for the Mustangs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Five different Lions made the first five shots for A&M-Commerce. The Lions jumped out to a quick 14-7 lead after seven minutes of play. The Mustangs then went on a 6-0 run to cut into the lead.
 
After the early runs by both teams, the teams traded baskets and leads through the remainder of the half. The Lions never trailed by more than three in the first half.
 
The Lions caused 13 MSU turnovers and turned them into 13 points in the first half. They also had 18 bench points as compared to just four for MSU. The Lions shot 42 percent in the first half while MSU shot 39 percent. A&M-Commerce took a 36-32 lead into halftime.
 
Carson led all scorers with 11 points, going 3-of-5 from long range. He also had three assists and five rebounds, which also led the team. Washington had eight points on 3-of-5 shooting in the first half for the Lions
 
The Lions pushed their lead to six early in the half before it was cut back down by MSU. The Lions started another run with 14 minutes to go in the game. They tied their largest lead of the game after a three-point play from Washington on a fast break. The Lions continued to add to their lead, pushing it to double digits for the first time with 10 minutes left in the second half.
 
The Mustangs started to cut into the Lion lead with nine minutes to play. They held the Lions without a field goal for nearly four minutes but could not capitalize and cut the lead lower than six. Seymore hit a corner three with six minutes to play to bring the Lion lead back to 11.
 
The Mustangs started to use full-court pressure to try and force A&M-Commerce into turnovers but the Lions fought through the pressure and never let the game get closer than six. They converted their free throws down the stretch to get the win.