COMMERCE– The 18th-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team defeated Texas A&M University-Kingsville 73-62 on Thursday. The Lions shot 49 percent from the field and scored half of their points in the paint.
 
The win brings the Lions to 12-1 on the season and 5-0 in the Lone Star Conference. The Javelinas fall to 9-5 on the year and 2-2 in conference play.
 
The Lions will face Angelo State on Saturday in the second game of the Lions' three-game home stand. The game will be played at 4 p.m. at the Field House.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Willie Rooks led the Lions with 19 points, shooting 7-of-11 in the game.
- Reggie Reid had 16 points and pulled in six rebounds to go with three assists.
- Aaron Horne had 11 points in the game, including two monster dunks in the second half.
- Dorian Armstrong had seven points and led the team with eight rebounds.
- The Lions shot 49 percent from the field and scored 36 points in the paint.
- A&M-Commerce scored 17 points off of 14 Javelina turnovers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a battle back and forth for the first nine minutes of the game as there were seven lead changes in the early minutes. Five different Lions all got on the board early in the contest as multiple players made the extra pass to find open shooters. A layup from Rooks tied the game at 10 after five minutes of play.
 
Rooks hit a three and Horne had a layup as the Lions went on a mini run to take a five-point lead. The Lions built the lead to six before the Javelinas went on a 7-0 run to take the lead with 11 minutes left in the half. A&M-Kingsville held a two-point lead at the midpoint of the half.
 
The Lions then went on a run, scoring 11 points in a row, including two buckets from Horne. Reid then had a three-point play as the Lions took a double-digit lead with just under three minutes left in the half. Reid had another bucket in the paint late and the Lions took a 41-31 lead into halftime.
 
Rooks had 12 points in the first half, shooting 5-of-8 from the field. Reid had eight points and a pair of assists while Horne had seven points. Armstrong had seven rebounds in the first half.
 
The Lions maintained their lead, leading by 11 with 13 minutes to play before going on a big run to put the game far out of reach. The Lions scored 14 of the next 15 points to take a 22-point lead. The run was capped with a thunderous dunk from Horne, giving A&M-Commerce the 67-45 advantage with 7:42 to play in the game.
 
Horne had another dunk two minutes later and the Lions entered their reserves in the final minutes. The Javelinas cut into the lead with late long distance shooting, but the game was never in doubt and the Lions cruised to the double-digit victory.