LAWTON, Okla. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team opened the 2018-19 campaign with a wire-to-wire 89-82 victory over Oklahoma Christian University in the first game of the LSC-Heartland Challenge at Cameron University on Friday evening.
 
The Lions move to 1-0 on the season and will take on Newman University at 2 p.m. Saturday to close out action in the season-opening event.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions shot 50.9 percent (29-of-57) from the field in the contest, while OC shot 47.5 percent (29-of-41) from the floor.
- Six Lions scored in double digits, led by Trey Conrod (Kilgore), who scored 18 points and had two steals.
- LSC Preseason Player of the Year Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga.) scored 16 points, dished out four assists, and tied for the team lead with six rebounds.
- Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting with five rebounds off of the bench.
- Tyree Robinson (Fall River, Mass.) and Srdan Budimir (Karadjordjevo, Serbia) scored 12 points apiece and Willie Rooks (Houston – North Forest) netted 10 points.
- The Lions forced 16 Eagle turnovers and turned them into 26 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Reid drained a three-pointer on the game's opening possession to start the scoring and gave the Lions a lead they would never relinquish. A&M-Commerce scored on five of its first six possessions and roared out to a 12-4 lead in the first three and a half minutes of the game.
 
Terrell's three-pointer at the 14:31 mark stretched the Lion lead to nine points at 15-6, and Conrod nailed a triple on the next possession to give A&M-Commerce its first double-digit lead at 18-8. After the Eagles answered with their own three-pointer, the Lions scored six straight. Budimir's trey at the 11:25 mark made it a 24-11 Lion lead.
 
Oklahoma Christian was able to cut the lead to as few as seven during the half, but the Lions took their largest lead of the night after a 6-0 run. A pair of Rooks free throws at the 4:13 mark gave the Lions a 14-point edge at 35-21. The Lions would hold a 40-31 lead at halftime.
 
The Eagles cut the lead to seven on the opening possession of the second half, but Budimir's fastbreak three-pointer at the 18:18 mark but the Lion lead back into double figures at 43-33. OC had the lead down to six points before a seven-point Conrod surge. Over the span of a minute and ten seconds, the senior hit a three-pointer and a pair of jumpers to put A&M-Commerce up 52-39.
 
The Lions did not sprint away with the game, as the Eagles narrowed the margin to seven points with 11:17 to go, and four points with 7:40 to play at 62-58. Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) hit a three and Conrod drained another triple to push the Lion lead back to double digits at 68-58 with 6:43 to play. From there, the Lions did not let the lead shrink to fewer than six points, and led by as many as 12 in the final two minutes.