COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team will host two nationally-ranked conference opponents in the final week of the regular season. The Lions face No. 7 West Texas A&M on Thursday and No. 12 UT Permian Basin on Saturday.
 
West Texas A&M
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (18-7, 10-6 LSC) vs. No. 7 West Texas A&M (24-2, 14-2 LSC)
WHERE: The Field House in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: lionathletics.com/live
TICKETS: Click HERE
 
UT Permian Basin
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce vs. No. 12 UT Permian Basin (22-3, 14-2 LSC)
WHERE: The Field House in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 24 at 4 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: lionathletics.com/live
TICKETS: Click HERE
 
The Lions are coming off of a loss to Tarleton State in the final game of a five-game road trip, which included the two longest road trips of the year for the Lions. The Lions went 2-3 on the trip, with both of their wins coming in overtime. Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg was proud of his players for pulling off some wins on the trip even though they did not always play up to their potential.
 
"When we looked at the five-game road trip at the beginning of the year, I've said it before but you have to play the games on your schedule," he said. "Obviously, we didn't play our best basketball over this five-game road trip. I think we were fortunate in circumstances to win some of those games on the road. But guys found a way to make plays when it mattered most."
 
The Lions almost pulled off an upset against Tarleton State. While trailing by more than 20 early in the second half, the team battled back to within two points with only seconds left in the contest. von Rosenberg liked how his team battled back but would have liked to see the team show the same amount of urgency earlier in the game.
 
"Some of the problems we have been having this last month have been our attention to detail," he said. "We have had that in overtime, but we have to carry that over into 40 minutes of basketball and be more engaged in what we are doing every possession. You can look at the last possession of the game and some things don't go our way but there are 80 other possessions for each side. You can't wait to show up and compete. That was my message to the team after Tarleton. Teams are too good and everybody is battling to win. You have to show up and give your best effort to win from the tip."
 
After the game on Feb. 13, the Lions have not played a game in more than a week. The team has used the time to rest, heal lingering issues and refocus. With the extra time with no need to game plan, von Rosenberg and his staff have used the time almost as a mini training camp, refocusing on the things that made the team get off to such a good start to the season.
 
"We got an extended break to get healthy, get our legs back and get refocused," he said. "That break helps us to be able to do that and refocus on things that made us very successful early. We were able to get back in and hone in on some little details. We almost went through the first five days of practice from the start of the year. We tried to emulate that a little bit to get back to where we are good on the defensive end and how that leads to our offense."
 
The Lions now face the final two games of the regular season. The team will host the top two teams in the conference, both with national rankings. With only a week before the conference tournament and a chance to improve the team's regional rankings, von Rosenberg has had just one message for his team in practice.
 
"Our message that we have said all week is that starting on Tuesday in practice, we are in postseason basketball," he said. "We are trying to make a run and we are trying to play our best basketball going into March. We have to be ready to compete. We are not going to play a game the rest of the year where, if we don't show up to play for 40 minutes, we will have a chance to win."
 
von Rosenberg is excited to be back home for the first time in nearly a month. He knows the home crowd will help the team against two of their toughest foes. He also knows the fans will travel well next week to the conference tournament. He hopes to use the crowd to his team's advantage over the next two weeks.
 
"Every game we play from here on out up until the regional tournament is essentially a home game for us," he said. "Our fans travel so well and follow what we are doing. We have put ourselves in position for this weekend for these games to matter. That is really all you can ask for. We are just trying to put our best foot forward and try to represent Commerce and our program the best that we can and try and come out on top."