CANYON – The No. 10 Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team battled back to tie the game after a 21-point deficit, but ultimately fell to No. 7 West Texas A&M University, 86-82, at the First United Bank Center in the NCAA Division II National Showcase game on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Lions are now 14-3 overall and 7-2 in the Lone Star Conference, sitting in a tie for second place at the halfway point of the conference schedule. West Texas A&M is now 17-2 overall and 7-2 in LSC play.
 
The Lions are next in action on Monday night at 7:30 p.m., hosting Dallas Christian for Faith & Family Night.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Willie Rooks scored 35 points in the game on 10-of-19 shooting, marking the most points by an individual in a Lone Star Conference game this season. He went 11-of-12 at the free throw line. He also had seven rebounds and three assists in the game.
- Reggie Reid scored 13 points to go with five rebounds and four assists.
- Dorian Armstrong scored 11 points and had five rebounds. His two late three-pointers each tied the game after the big deficit.
- The Lions shot 39.1 percent (25-of-64) from the floor but helped turn the tables on 80.6 percent free throw shooting (25-of-31).
- The Lions had a 48-42 edge on the boards as Rooks, Joseph Williams-Powell, and Srdan Budimir each had seven rebounds.
- A&M-Commerce limited the hot-shooting Buffs to 40.6 percent from the field on 28-of-69 shooting.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams hit three-pointers on their opening possessions, with Armstrong nailing a long-distance shot from the corner to open the Lion scoring. A Rooks three-pointer gave the Lions a 6-5 lead with 17:34 to play in the opening half.
 
The Buffs then went on three separate five-point runs, taking a 20-10 lead on a Gach Gach triple at the 11:14 mark. A&M-Commerce went on a 6-2 run to get the lead back down to six points with 8:51 to go in the half.
 
WT then surged to its largest lead of the second half with an 11-1 rally. The Buffs led 33-17 with 5:35 left in the opening half. The Lions responded with their own 11-point surge. Rooks scored seven of the 11 points as the guess narrowed the lead back down to five points at 33-28 with 3:26 to go.
 
After WT stretched the lead back to 12 points, the Lions scored seven points in 45 seconds. Reid's flying layup with 45 seconds to play had the lead back down to five points at 40-35. Unfortunately for the Lions, the Buffs scored on their final two possessions, with a buzzer-beating three-pointer giving West Texas a 45-35 halftime lead.
 
The Lions shot 30 percent (9-for-30) in the half, with six two-pointers and three three-pointers. A&M-Commerce certainly took advantage of West Texas' 12 first half fouls, going 14-of-17 at the free throw line for an 82.4 percent rate.
 
Out of the halftime break, the Buffs started off on fire from long distance, with five made three-pointers in the opening four minutes, stretching the WT lead to 21 points at 61-40 with 16:05 left to play. The Lions did not panic and steadily chipped away at the lead.
 
A&M-Commerce scored 13 consecutive points and went on an 18-2 run over a seven-minute span, narrowing the deficit to just five points at 65-60 with 8:18 to go. Rooks scored 12 of those 18 points in the rally.
 
WT pushed back out to an eight-point lead with 5:12 to go, but a Willford three-point play, an Aaron Horne free throw, and a Joseph Williams-Powell jumper from the free throw line cut the lead to two. After a Buff free throw, Armstrong drained a wide-open triple with 2:58 to tie the game at 77-all, bringing the Lions all the way back from the 21-point deficit.
 
WT went up again on three free throws, but Armstrong made his second consecutive game-tying three-pointer to make it an 80-80 game.
 
Chavlovich scored in the paint, but Conrod immediately responded to tie the game at 82-all with 1:10 to play. WT took the lead on a Chavlovich three-point play with 49 seconds left and a Lion long-distance attempt to tie the game came up lacking. The Lions had a chance at a defensive rebound  go missing and a Buff free throw sealed their 86-82 win.