CANYON– The No. 20 Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team lost 87-66 against No. 16 West Texas A&M on Thursday. The Lions held the lead with 10 minutes remaining in the game before WT ran away in the final 10 minutes.
 
The loss brings the Lions to 13-3 on the season and 5-1 in the Lone Star Conference. The Buffs improve to 17-3 and 6-1 in LSC play.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday with a road game against Eastern New Mexico. The game will be played at 5 p.m. CST at Greyhound Arena in Portales, N.M.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga.) led the team with 22 points and added six rebounds.
- Tyree Robinson (Fall River, Mass.) added 16 points in just 13 minutes, being limited in foul trouble. He went 7-for-8 from the field.
- Willie Rooks (Houston - North Forest) also scored in double figures with 10 points.
- The Lions shot 36 percent while WT shot 51 percent in the game. The Buffs shot 62 percent in the second half.
- There were six lead changes in the game before WT took the lead for good with under 10 minutes to play.
- WT scored 25 points off of 14 Lion turnovers. WT had eight turnovers in the game.
 
HEAD COACH JARET VON ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
- On WT's late rally: "We give WT a lot of credit. We played well and competitive for about 32 minutes and they kept coming at us. It is kind of what we have done to other teams in the second half. They put up 62 percent from the floor and 53 points. We just didn't have it going offensively to withstand that. It is hard to win on the road in the Lone Star, especially against a really good WT team. We give a lot of credit to West Texas and what they did tonight."
- On the quick turnaround against Eastern New Mexico: "They are another physical team with good guard play. They are going to really defend us and get after us. We have to sure up some things offensively. We can't let our offense dictate how we play on defense. That will be another challenge as we head down to Eastern New Mexico. We have to play defense for 40 minutes, no matter what. We have to find a way to go 1-1 on this trip."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After WT made the first shot of the game, the Lions went on a quick 7-0 run to take the lead. A three from Reid gave the Lions a 10-4 lead after six minutes of play. Robinson was able to get multiple looks in the paint, getting a dunk and a layup three-point play. With 12 minutes to play, the Lions held a 15-8 lead.
 
The Buffs then went on a run, hitting two threes to cut the Lion lead to one point with nine minutes to play. Robinson made two more baskets in the paint to bring the Lion lead back up. WT battled back to again cut into the lead and at the four minute mark, a three gave WT the lead back. The lead would change hands several times late in the half as both teams battled on both ends of the floor. After two consecutive buckets from WT, the Lions hit a late three to go into the half behind 34-32.
 
Robinson led all scorers with 11 points in the half, making all five of his shots. Reid added 10 points and Rooks had six rebounds to lead the Lions on the boards. Both teams shot nearly identical from the field. The Buffs got to the foul line eight times in the half compared to just three foul shots for the Lions.
 
The Lions tied the game early in the second half on a layup from Robinson. The teams battled back and forth early before a 9-0 run by WT put them ahead 49-40 with 15 minutes remaining. The Lions would rally back, going on a 15-2 run to take the lead. Reid led the rally, scoring eight points, including a three-point play. The Lions held a 57-53 lead midway through the half.
 
It was almost all WT in the final 10 minutes as they outscored the Lions 34-9 in the final minutes.