CANYON– The No. 20 Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team will continue its Lone Star Conference season with two road games this week. The Lions will face No. 16 West Texas A&M on Thursday and Eastern New Mexico on Saturday.
 
No. 16 West Texas A&M
WHO: No. 20 Texas A&M-Commerce (13-2, 5-0 LSC) vs. No. 16 West Texas A&M (16-3, 5-1 LSC)
WHERE: First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wtamu/
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
 
Eastern New Mexico
WHO: No. 20 Texas A&M-Commerce vs. Eastern New Mexico (6-8, 3-3 LSC)
WHERE: Greyhound Arena in Portales, New Mexico
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. CST
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: https://goeasternathletics.com/watch/?Live=786&sport=4&type=Live
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
 
The Lions are coming off of a come-from-behind victory over Tarleton State. The Lions trailed at halftime but turned things around both on offense and defense in the second half to come out with the win. Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg credited his team for the halftime adjustments.
 
"We are still trying to be more consistent from game to game and half to half," he said. "The good thing about that game against Tarleton is they had us against the ropes with our backs to the wall and we were able to come out and respond in that second half. We were able to string together stops and scores. When you are down double digits like we were, there is not one special play that is going to get you back in the game. It is consistently how you execute on both sides of the floor."
 
While pleased with the win, von Rosenberg is looking for his team to put together an entire performance. The execution in the second half is what he is looking for throughout the game.
 
"It's a double-edged sword," he said of his team's second-half comeback. "It shows how effective we can be at times. But it also shows how we aren't always playing consistently for 40 minutes. That is what we are searching to do. We have to be more consistent and try and put a 40-minute game together. It has been a tale of two halves in multiple games this year."
 
The Lions will face a test against West Texas A&M in their next game. The Buffs have not lost at home in nearly one calendar year. This will be the fourth matchup between the teams in the last 51 weeks, and the third in Canyon. Coach von Rosenberg knows his team will have to come out swinging and compete from the opening tip to defeat WT.
 
"They compete at a very high level and execute on both sides of the floor," he said of WT. "It is going to be a very tough matchup. We have a lot of respect for what they do. We have to find a way to play for 40 minutes. If we don't come out early and really compete, they can run away from you. They have that ability. We are going to prepare like we always do and we are going in there planning on winning. My ideal situation is we compete for 36 minutes and we are within striking distance in that last four minutes, and we make a few more plays than they do."