COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team returns to conference action this weekend. The Lions face MSU Texas on Thursday and Cameron on Saturday.
 
MSU Texas
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (10-2, 2-0 LSC) at MSU Texas (4-8, 0-2 LSC)
WHERE: D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: Click HERE
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
 
Cameron
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce at Cameron (4-8, 0-2 LSC)
WHERE: Aggie Gym in Lawton Oklahoma
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 5 at 4 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: Click HERE
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
 
The Lions are coming off of an 83-65 win against Texas A&M-International after a 24-day break between games. Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg liked the way his team closed out the game after struggling from the field in the first half.
 
"I thought we played well," von Rosenberg said. "I thought we didn't shoot the ball particularly well but it wasn't sloppy in terms of taking care of the basketball and executing how we want to execute. Sometimes the ball just doesn't go in. But we still went into halftime with the lead and we did enough on the defensive end and took care of the other areas."
 
Tyree Robinson continued his hot shooting, hitting 10-of-13 shots in the Lion win. The senior now ranks second in the nation in shooting percentage. Coach von Rosenberg likes the way his forward is playing.
 
"Tyree transferred to us and got here in September and he's getting more and more comfortable every time he steps on the floor," he said. "We have a lot of returners from last year and the new guys are really settling in and learning how we want to do things on both ends of the floor. They are meshing well with the other players on the court.
 
"We are shooting 50 percent from the floor as a team, and Tyree is a big part of that. He takes advantage of every opportunity he gets. Some guys have really good touch and for some reason when they get to their spot on the floor, their shots seem to just go in. He is one of those guys. He's done an unbelievable job for us."
 
The Lions now face their first conference road games of the season. With four starters with LSC experience, von Rosenberg knows his team has been through the rigors of LSC play before. He knows the team will need to play extremely well if they want to win in either gym.
 
"I just want to compete and do the things we talk about all the time," he said. "Every time we step on the floor for practice or a game, we want to give effort. We want to give ourselves a chance in the last four minutes to be close enough to have a chance to win. If we do that, we will take care of business.
 
"It's the Lone Star. I know we have played two early home games, but going on the road in the Lone Star, you try and find ways to steal a victory every time we step on the floor. It's not going to be easy. They have good teams at both places. We will have our hands full but we will be ready to go."