COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team will play its first two home Lone Star Conference games over the weekend. The Lions host Eastern New Mexico on Thursday and Western New Mexico on Saturday.
 
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (7-0, 2-0 LSC) vs. Eastern New Mexico (3-5, 0-2 LSC)
WHERE: The Field House in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 7 at 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: portal.stretchinternet.com/tamucommerce/
TICKETS: Click HERE
 
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce vs. Western New Mexico (2-6, 0-2 LSC)
WHERE: The Field House in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Saturday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: portal.stretchinternet.com/tamucommerce/
TICKETS: Click HERE
 
The Lions are coming off of two road conference wins. The Lions were able to defeat Cameron and Midwestern State in their first two Lone Star Conference games of the season. The Lions got a one-point win over the Aggies in Lawton, Okla.
 
"We were able to make enough plays in the last four minutes at Cameron to come out on top," said head coach Jaret von Rosenberg. "I give our guys a lot of credit and I give Cameron a lot of credit. They put us in that position and we were able to make one more play then they were in the end."
 
The Lions then had a come-from-behind win over Midwestern State. The Lions fell behind by 15 points late in the first half but turned the game around, outscoring MSU by 33 points in the final 26 minutes to get the win. von Rosenberg credits his players with improving their execution and digging themselves out of the hole, eventually winning by 18 points.
 
"That is the best offensive performance of shooting the ball and executing on the offensive end that we have had thus far this year," he said. "It was kind of a perfect storm. We don't expect to play that well offensively and have shots go in at the rate that they did. But is was nice to see. Obviously, when you are able to make shots and get a few stops, you can really turn the tables on the scoreboard and we did that."
 
One of the bright spots on the week was that of Dorian Armstrong, who was named Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week. von Rosenberg credited the senior for his play.
 
"He is one of the guys that has played in the Lone Star Conference before," he said of Armstrong. "Trey Washington and Daquane Willford, our other two returners, were both out with injuries. So he was the lone returner that had played at Cameron and at Midwestern and knows what to expect. And he played very well. I give him a lot of credit. His teammates found him and he was able to knock down shots."
 
von Rosenberg also liked how his team was able to distribute the ball. The Lions had multiple players average double-digit scoring over the first weekend of LSC play.
 
"We had contributions across the board," he said. "When you have five or six guys in double figures, it gives us a chance to win. The ball is moving and the right guy is getting the right shot. They just have to go in. Sometimes they don't. At Cameron, they didn't go in at the same rate that they did at Midwestern. But once again, we pride ourselves on trying to get down and guard and make the game a half-court game on the defensive end and get enough stops to put us in a position to where a shot goes in, we have a chance to win."
 
The Lions now focus on their game against Eastern New Mexico. The game is part of Education Day on the A&M-Commerce campus. von Rosenberg is excited to see his team get out and he knows the crowd full of young fans will help his team.
 
"It is a huge advantage," he said. "The gym will be packed. There will be a lot of kids here and they will be excited to scream for the Lions. We are excited for that opportunity."
 
The Lions will then host Western New Mexico, right before the A&M-Commerce football team's NCAA playoff game. The game was moved to earlier in the day to accommodate the historic day for Lion Athletics.
 
"We want to thank Western New Mexico for being flexible and moving the Saturday game time to accommodate our football game," von Rosenberg said. "We will actually play two 1 p.m. games during the conference home stand. At least we will have some familiarity with playing earlier and doing it two times in a row. We should have good crowds for both. We want to take advantage of Thursday and take advantage of playing at home and try to play as well as we can and get a win."