COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team overcame a 12-point second half deficit and used clutch shooting down the stretch to earn a 91-89 overtime win over No. 11 Missouri Southern State in the Field House on Monday afternoon. The game was played in front of over 1,600 schoolchildren on Education Day presented by Alliance Bank.
 
The victory is A&M-Commerce's fourth in a row and puts the overall record at 6-3 overall with two more games before the holiday break. Missouri Southern falls to 7-2 overall. This also marks A&M-Commerce's second win over a top 15 team this season.
 
A&M-Commerce next plays on Thursday night, returning to Lone Star Conference play at nationally-ranked Dallas Baptist at 7 p.m.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- A&M-Commerce shot 47.1 percent from the field (33-of-70) and an important 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the free throw line. Missouri Southern shot 44.2 percent (34-of-77) and made 11-of-20 (55.0 percent) of its free throws.
- Deon Barrett (Lancaster) led all scorers with 29 points, including five three-pointers. He grabbed six rebounds and passed out five assists with no turnovers. He went 8-of-10 from the free throw line, with three crucial free throws at the end of regulation.
- Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) scored 21 points with seven rebounds and six assists.
- Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) netted 19 points with five rebounds.
- There were eight lead changes and 10 ties in the game, and A&M-Commerce led for 8:36 of action, while MSSU was ahead for 30:28.
 
HEAD COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
 On making big shots at big times: "Guys made plays, guys made big free throws. Guys scored without time coming off the clock. Everyone was looking at Deon at the end of regulation. And then Leo [Lara], the play broke down but we wanted to shoot late like that. We wanted to leave as little time as possible whether we made it or missed it. And he was able to make two."
On getting contributions from all over the lineup: "What a game from our guys. We had contributions from all over. Josh Winbush played five and a half minutes, but he iced the game by having a tip on the final inbound pass. We told him to be active with his hands and he was able to get a hand on the ball and the time expired before they could attempt anything."
On the play of Deon Barrett: "What I see from this stat sheet is this was a point guard with the ball in his hands, who played 44 minutes, and didn't turn the ball over one time. When the ball is in his hands, he gives us a chance to win. He's played so consistently and so tough. When you need to make a shot, he is able to get a shot or get to the rim or the foul line."

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a defensive battle right from the start as each team struggled to find open shots. A&M-Commerce was able to capitalize on a pair of early threes to lead 6-2. The teams were evenly matched to begin, as the teams traded baskets early. Midway through the half, the game was tied at 13.
 
Shooting struggles mixed with high defensive execution from MSSU caused the Lions to start falling behind. Good ball movement from MSSU helped the visitors find open shots, leading to a pair of threes. With eight minutes left, MSSU led 24-17.
 
The home Lions answered back with a few threes of their own. Terrell and Barrett each had triples as the Lions went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 27-all with five minutes left. For the next three minutes, the teams traded baskets and stops, as the game was tied at 37-all with two minutes left. A&M-Commerce went cold to close the half, as MSSU led 41-37 at halftime. Barrett led A&M-Commerce with 14 points in the first half.

Southern quickly extended its halftime lead out to 10 points in the first three minutes of the second half with an 8-2 run. A&M-Commerce would continually battle back to with five points over the next few minutes, but the guests kept pulling away and took a 68-56 lead with 7:15 left in regulation.

A&M-Commerce rattled off 10 straight points to get back in the game. Stewart scored five straight points with a three-pointer and a pair of free throws. Terrell made a basket in the paint and Stewart drained another triple and cut the lead to 68-66 with 5:06 on the regulation clock. Terrell's three-pointer at the 3:52 mark tied the game up at 71-all.

MSSU pushed out to a 79-73 lead with 2:07 to go on consecutive three-pointers, and the guests' lead was at five points with a minute to play. Stewart hit a layup to cut the lead to three, and Missouri Southern missed the front end of a one-and-one. Barrett drove down court on the final possession and after the Lions worked the ball around for the final shot, Barrett was fouled in the act of shooting a three at the buzzer. With no time on the clock, Barrett drained all three free throws to push the game to overtime.

The visitors scored the first four points of the extra period, forcing the home side to come back once again. The difference stood at 89-86 in MSSU's favor with a minute left on the clock, and Barrett drained a triple with 48 seconds to play to tie the game. Missouri Southern was fouled on the next possession, but missed both free throws to give A&M-Commerce a chance to win with the final shot. Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) drove towards the basket and was fouled with 2.0 seconds on the clock. He canned both free throws to give the Lions the 91-89 lead. MSSU's inbound pass was tipped and the home side pulled off the comeback win.