SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A late cold streak hurt the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team in its opening game of the season, as the Lions fell to Dixie State University 71-66 at Behnke Field House on Friday evening.
 
The Lions fall to 0-1 on the season for the first time since the 2012-13 season with the narrow defeat. A&M-Commerce takes on host institution Westminster College at 7:30 p.m. MST (8:30 p.m. CST) on Saturday.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions shot 35.5 percent from the field (22-of-62) in the game with 32 points in the first half and 34 in the second half. A&M-Commerce was limited to a 9-of-38 (23.7 percent) clip from three-point range and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the charity stripe.
- Dixie State made 41.9 percent (26-of-62) of its shots with an 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) success rate from long range and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the free throw line.
- The Lions were unable to connect on a field goal in the final 4:36 of the game, and were outscored 11-0 in the final stretch of the contest.
- Deon Barrett (Lancaster) led the Lions with 19 points in the game, including five three-pointers.
- Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) scored 18 points with five rebounds and three assists.
- Rodney Brown (Beaumont – West Brook) scored nine points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

HEAD COACH JARET VON ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
- On his overall impressions of first game with the 2019-20 team: "Hats off to really well coached team in Dixie. They were prepared and made great adjustments during the game. This felt like a January game more so than a November 9th game. Both teams guarded and took care of the basketball. Like we always say, we gave ourselves a chance in the last four minutes, but they were able to make more plays down the stretch than we did.

- How important was Rodney Brown's near double-double after the cold start?: "We had multiple guys play really well, Rodney being one of them. He really controlled the paint defensively and offensively.  I expected our defense to be ahead of our offense early in the season, and we couldn't overcome that fact. The guys know that and they wish they had that back. First game fatigue and execution was to much to overcome at the end."

- How can the team improve quickly and get a win against Westminster?: "We will prepare like we always do for tomorrow and the guys will be hungry to compete and get this taste out of our mouths. We're excited to get another opportunity."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team shot the ball well in the opening stages of the game, as no points were scored in the first four-plus minutes. Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall) drilled a three-pointer for the Lions' first points, and a six-point rally pushed the lead to 9-5 with just under 13 minutes left in the first half.
 
The Trailblazers briefly took the lead by one point near the mid-point of the first half, followed by a 10-point Lion run. Barrett hit a three, Carius Key (Irving – MacArthur) made a driving layup, Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) canned a triple, and Brown hit a mid-range jumper to put the Lions up 23-14 with just under six minutes left in the first half. A&M-Commerce led by nine as late as the 1:18 mark of the first half on another Barrett trey, and the Lions took a 32-26 lead into the halftime break after a River Reed (San Antonio – Reagan) tip-in just before the buzzer.
 
Dixie chipped away at the lead in the early parts of the second half, and a four-point run cut the Lion lead to one possession at 39-36 with 14:13 to play before Barrett answered immediately with a three-pointer. The Trailblazers scored the next seven points and regained the advantage at 43-42 at the 12:36 mark.
 
Barrett's three-point play swung the lead back to A&M-Commerce, and Lara connected on three free throws after a foul on a long-range attempt, giving the Lions a 49-43 lead with just under 11 minutes on the clock. In the nature of the back-and-forth contest, Dixie scored the next eight points to take another one-point lead with 7:19 to go.
 
With just under six minutes on the timer, the game was tied at 58-all before a Lion run. Barrett made a three-pointer, and Terrell connected on an old-fashioned three-point play and the Lions led by six points with 4:36 to play.
 
Unfortunately for A&M-Commerce, the Trailblazers scored the final 11 points of the game. The Lions failed to connect on their final eight shots of the game and also had an turnover in the offensive paint when trailing by only one point inside the final minute. TAMUC had chances to tie the game when down by three thanks to offensive rebounds, but four long range attempts went awry and DSU took the victory.