FRISCO– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team begins the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament on Friday. The Lions are the fourth seed and will face the fifth seed Angelo State.
 
Angelo State
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (20-7, 12-6 LSC) vs. Angelo State (18-10, 9-9 LSC)
WHERE: Kitty Magee Arena in Denton, Texas
WHEN: Friday, March 2 at 6 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: portal.stretchinternet.com/lonestar
LIVE VIDEO: ketr.org/
TICKETS: Free admission
 
The Lions are coming off of back-to-back wins against nationally ranked conference opponents. A&M-Commerce defeated West Texas A&M 67-66 on Thursday and then defeated UT Permian Basin by 29 on Saturday. Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg liked the way his team played but doesn't want the team to get comfortable now.
 
"It's obviously exciting," he said. "I give a lot of credit to our guys. Coming off of a five-game road trip, we've had some ups and downs on both sides of the ball. We had some time off and we talked about the mindset that we needed to have and the urgency that we needed to have going into those two games. I told them this before last weekend. From that time on, there will not be an easy game. If we do not play well in any game from here on out, we will lose. We are playing good teams. It was exciting that they showed up and played really well. UTPB and West Texas are two very good teams."
 
While the games improved the team's regional ranking, moving the Lions from No. 8 to No. 5, von Rosenberg was more excited to see his team continue to improve in its 26th and 27th games of the year.
 
"The most exciting part is that we saw growth and saw that we are still getting better," he said. "We want to be playing our best basketball right now. I was really proud and happy with the way the guys competed. We played a good 80 minutes of basketball and I hope to continue that this weekend."
 
The Lions reached 20 wins in the regular season. With that mark, von Rosenberg became the first head coach at A&M-Commerce since the 1950's to win 20 games in his first season. von Rosenberg was quick to give all the credit to his players.
 
"I learned Sam Walker that it is 'we, us and our'," he said. "I'm excited about us getting 20 wins because we played a 27-game schedule this year. We won a lot more than we lost. I'm extremely excited about not only all of the players that decided to put on a Lion uniform after I got here, but for those four seniors especially.
 
"Daquane Willford and Dorian Armstrong were returners but were new to me and new to our program and the way we are doing things. They bought in from day one. That helps me do my job. Then having Joe Powell and Aaron Horn. They both had one year of eligibility left in college basketball and they decided to come play for a first-year head coach. There was a lot of uncertainty and they trusted me."
 
The Lions now enter the Lone Star Conference tournament. A&M-Commerce comes in as the fourth seed and will face Angelo State in the first round on Friday. The teams split their games during the regular season.
 
"It is a good basketball team," von Rosenberg said of ASU. "My word this week for our guys is urgency. We can't be satisfied. We are coming off two wins that, while they are great, they are in the past and we have to look ahead of us. We have to have urgency to what we are doing. From every film session to getting our school work done to stepping on the floor for 40 minutes and playing with that urgency. If we don't, we are going to lose.
 
"There are more than 200 Division II basketball teams and after this weekend, there are going to be 64 left. Every game, the urgency we have to have has to be great to get into that field of 64. Every week while people are going home and seniors are losing their eligibility, we are trying to keep playing. That is why we are so urgent with what we are doing."
 
The Lions are looking to win three games in three days to win the LSC Tournament championship. While that is the team goal, von Rosenberg is focused on just one thing right now.
 
"We just have to show up Friday," he said. "We have to show up Friday ready to play at 6 p.m. Everything else won't matter if we don't do that. At the end of the day, we are going to prepare and try to get ready to beat a well-coached basketball team in Angelo State."