COMMERCE– The No. 19 Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team eked out a 104-103 double-overtime win over No. 10 West Texas A&M on Saturday. The Lions converted a four-point play with 3.8 seconds in regulation to force overtime and did just enough to escape with the win. It was the first double overtime game for the Lions since 2007.
 
The Lions are now in a four-way tie for second place in the Lone Star Conference with a 14-4 record and a 6-3 record in the LSC. WT falls to 18-4 and 6-3 in conference action.
 
The Lions now hit the road as they travel to face Midwestern State on Thursday. The game will be at 7:30 p.m. at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls.
  INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Trey Washington hit a corner three with 3.8 seconds and was fouled, converting a four-point play to force overtime. Washington finished the game with 20 points, all in the second half. He shot 5-of-7 from downtown.
- Montrell Little led the Lions with 26 points, going 5-of-8 from downtown. He also had seven rebounds.
- Malik Albert had a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. He also had six assists and four steals. Albert made the winning free throw for the Lions.
- Trey Seymore scored 11 points and had four assists.
- Washington and Daquane Willford combined for 19 consecutive points in the second half after not seeing any action in the first half.
- The Lions scored 77 bench points and 50 points in the paint.
- David Chavlovich scored 29 points on 10-of-28 shooting. Jordan Evans had 24 points and 10 rebounds.
- It was the first double overtime game for the Lions since 2007.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was back and forth to start as WT took a four-point lead before a 5-0 Lion run gave A&M-Commerce its first lead of the game at the 16-minute mark. Each starter made a basket for the Lions in the early going. Six different Lions scored the first six baskets.
 
The lead changed hands multiple times before the Buffs started to pull away starting with 14 minutes to play in the half. They pushed their lead to nine midway through the half. Little had a hot hand in the first, hitting two threes early on to keep A&M-Commerce within striking distance.
 
The Buffs' lead ebbed between nine and four for the next six minutes. The Lions cut the lead to four with three minutes to go before WT went on a 7-0 run to take a double-digit lead with a minute and a half to play. The Lions scored the final three points of the half to trail 46-38 at halftime.
 
Little had 16 points for the Lions in the first half, leading all scorers. Dorian Armstrong had six points and five rebounds.
 
The first 10 minutes of the second half were back and forth, with WT not giving much ground on their lead. However, the Lions started to get back in the game at the nine-minute mark.
 
Willford and Washington combined to score the next 19 points for the Lions as they cut into the lead. Washington caught fire from three, draining consecutive triples to give the Lions their first lead since the early part of the first half.
 
The game was tightly contested the rest of the way. The teams traded baskets until the Lions missed a shot with 21 seconds, which would have tied the game. The Lions were forced to foul and fell down by four. On the next possession, Albert tipped in a rebound to bring the lead back down to two.
 
The Lions fouled again and again were down four with 13 seconds to play. The Lions inbounded the ball and Albert drove into the lane before kicking the ball to Little. Little swung the ball to the left corner and Washington rose up and buried the off-balance three and he was fouled with 3.8 seconds left in the game. Washington made the free throw and the Lions forced overtime tied at 91.
 
The Lions scored the first four points of the first overtime. However, WT scored four points of its own to tie the game up with two minutes to play. The teams had multiple possessions down the stretch but neither could find the net. The Lions had a chance to win at the buzzer but the ball caromed off the rim. The teams went into double overtime tied at 95.
 
The Buffs scored the first point of double overtime but that was the only lead they would have. Albert scored seven of the nine Lion points in the second overtime, including the game-winning free throw with two seconds left.

Head Coach Sam Walker and Trey Washington after the game