Canyon, Texas – Despite 21 points from Jeremy Jones points and a perfect shooting performance from Ronnie White, the A&M-Commerce Lions fell 93-84 on the road at West Texas A&M following a 15 threes from the Buffs Wednesday night in a Lone Star Conference game.
 
Turning Point
- With the Lions trailing 80-78 with 3:42 remaining in a game that featured two ties and 10 lead changes, the Lions were whistled for a foul while WT was in the act of hitting a 3-pointer. After a review, the officials award a flagrant foul awarding the Buffs two free throws and the ball on resumption of play.  West Texas took advantage of the series of events by converting both free throws and making a layup on the bonus possession for a seven-point swing in a span of 25 seconds of game time to take an 87-78 lead.
 
Highlights
- Jones scored his 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor. The 21-point performance was the third of the season for Jones.
 
- White was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor in the game and 4-of-5 from the free throw line tallying 18 points. White missed the Lions' single-game field goal percentage by one made basket. 
 
- Anthony Adams followed with 13 points, while Bryant Crowder scored 10 points off the bench.
 
- The Lions outshot the Buffs 52 percent compared to 42 percent, but West Texas held a 42 percent, 15-of-35, to 25 percent, 2-of-8, advantage from behind the arc. 
 
- A&M-Commerce score 54 of their 84 points in the paint compared to just 24 for the Buffs. However, West Texas accounted for 45 points from three compared to just six for the Lions.
 
Inside the box score
- With the loss, the Lions fall to 16-9 overall and 5-7 in the Lone Star Conference.
 
Summary
1st Half
- The Buffs sprinted out to a 22-8 lead with 13:57 left in the 1st half after starting 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-8 from behind the three-point arc.
 
- The Lions fought back over the next 10 minutes cutting the lead down to 32-29 with a 21-10 run capped off by a JR Owens 3 pointer from the top of the key.
 
- The Lions cut the deficit down to one point, 38-37, with 2:18 left to play on a Jones three-point play, but WT answered with a 6-0 run on a pair of threes to regain a seven point advantage, 44-37.  A&M-Commerce scored the final four points of the half on a dunk by White and a Craig Fofang basket after getting an offensive rebound to cut the margin down to 44-41 at the break.
 
- White was a perfect 5-of-5 in the half while playing 13 minutes.
 
- The Lions outshot the Buffs 47 percent to 41 percent in the half, but WT hit nine of 20 three-point attempts in the half for 45 percent. A&M-Commerce went 1-of-4 from long range in the frame.
 
2nd Half
- The Lions came out of the break firing with a 7-0 run to take a 47-44 lead just over a minute into the action. Owens opened the scoring with a midrange jumper.
 
- The two teams traded the lead over the next five and a half minutes when Isaac Asrat knotted the game at 64 with a layup with 9:17 remaining.
 
- West Texas notched the next five points and kept the Lions at bay until extending the lead out to nine points, 87-78, following the seven-point swing at the 3:22 mark.
 
- The Buffs went on to push the lead out to as high as 12 points, 90-78, before picking up the 93-84 win.
 
What's Next?
- The Lions return home Saturday, February 20 with Eastern New Mexico at 6 p.m. in The Field House. The game has been dubbed #FillTheFieldHouse with A&M-Commerce Athletics offering free tickets to the doubleheader contest with the women playing the Greyhounds at 4 p.m. The promotional night is sponsored by the Texas A&M University-Commerce College of Business.
 
Fans can follow all the action from the 2015-16 season on www.LionAthletics.com, through twitter @Lion_Athletics and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LionsAthletics.
 
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