COMMERCE– The No. 24 Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team will host No. 23 Tarleton State on Thursday in their fifth Lone Star Conference game of the season.
 
WHO: No. 24 Texas A&M-Commerce (12-2, 4-0 LSC) vs. No. 23 Tarleton State (12-2, 3-1 LSC)
WHERE: The Field House in Commerce, Texas
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: lionathletics.com/live
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
TICKETS: Click HERE
 
The Lions are coming off of two wins on the road against LSC opponents. A&M-Commerce defeated MSU Texas on Thursday and Cameron on Saturday. Both games were close at halftime before the Lions turned it on in both of the games down the stretch to get wins. Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg liked the way his team played in the second half of both games on the road.
 
"Anytime you go on the road in the Lone Star, it is going to be tough," he said. "As we expected, both Cameron and Midwestern are well coached teams and very talented. We were very fortunate to shoot the ball well in the second half of both of those games and come out with victories. Anytime we can go into someone else's gym in the league and win, we will take it."
 
With the wins, the Lions continued to impress the coaches around the country as they were voted into the top 25 rankings for the first time this season, coming in at No. 24. von Rosenberg likes the recognition but knows his team needs to be focused on themselves and not on what others think of them.
 
"We have obviously won seven in a row," he said. "When you start winning games like that, you will get recognized that way. I want to keep getting better on both sides of the ball. We are still so young in the season, only having played four conference games so far. We have to have our heads down and be focused on the task at hand."
 
The task at hand is facing Tarleton State, who matches the Lions' 12-2 record and is the No. 23 ranked team in the nation. von Rosenberg is looking for his team to continue to improve as they seek to defend their home court.
 
"We expect Tarleton to be very good," he said. "Coach Reisman has been there for a long time as a player, then a coach. He does a wonderful job. His team just keeps getting better from game one until now. That is the sign of a great program and great leadership at the top.
 
"It is going to be a heavyweight fight. The pressure is more on us than them because we are at home. You have to win your home games. We just have to have our guys ready to compete at the highest level and give ourselves a chance to win in those last four minutes. I know our community and the university will come out and support us. Hopefully that is the edge we need to get over the top."
 
Tickets are available at WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756 or by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House.