COMMERCE— The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team will face the No. 9 team in the country as they travel to play Tarleton State on Tuesday. The contest will be the final game of a seven-game road stand for the Lions.
 
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (12-2, 5-1 LSC) at Tarleton State (13-2, 5-1 LSC)
WHERE: Wisdom Gym in Stephenville, Texas
WHEN: Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=150825
LIVE VIDEO: http://www.tarletonsports.com/showcase?Live=711
LIVE AUDIO: www.ketr.org
 
The Lions are coming off of an overtime win against Angelo State, a ranked opponent that is a tough out, especially on their home floor. Head coach Sam Walker liked they way his team competed in a hostile environment.
 
"That might have been one of the best games we have played all year," Walker said. "We may not have shot great from the free throw line and we didn't make every shot but our guys just battled. I'm very blessed to have the opportunity to coach guys who are such warriors. They are dedicated to winning and they are really fun to watch and really fun to work with."
 
Walker likes the way his team has been aggressive going to the basket and drawing fouls. Although his team has struggled from the free throw line, he is confident that the percentages will go back to where they should be.
 
"We've shot something like 187 free throws in the last four games," Walker said. "I don't care how many you make, that lets you know how you are playing. We are going to get to where we make more of them. Our guys are too good of shooters. That doesn't matter to us. What matters is that we are being the aggressor. That's what we want to do with this team. We want to control the tempo. We want to go to the rim. That showed in our game. It paid off for us. That was the difference in the game."
 
Walker has been impressed with how his team has fought through the punches of teams playing their best basketball. While his team hasn't been perfect, they have fought through struggles and still have found ways to come out on top.
 
"What a great opportunity it is to watch these guys have success with so much adversity around them," Walker said. "We are getting people's best games. We are catching people at the wrong time and are still winning. We are not catching people on winning streaks. We are catching good teams right after a loss. You could tell that Angelo played with some passion. You just have to play your schedule and go to the next game."
 
The Lions have received no favors from the schedule maker nor the teams in their conference as they have embarked on a seven-game road trip. They have faced teams at their best and face another tough test against Tarleton State, a team looking to rebound from its first loss after a 10-game winning streak.
 
"This road trip has been tough," he said. "We went to Kingsville and got them at home for their first conference home game of the year. That was going to be a tough one. Then we went to Angelo after they suffered their first loss of the year and they wanted to bounce back off of it. Now we got to go to Tarleton and they are coming off of their first loss since Thanksgiving. So they are going to want to bounce back off that. It will be another tough game on Tuesday."