DALLAS – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team shot for the highest single-game percentage in the last two years to roll to a 102-78 win over No. 10 Dallas Baptist University in the Burg Center on Thursday night.
 
The Lions move to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference, while the Patriots were handed their first loss of the year at 9-1 overall and 3-1 in the LSC. The Lions have now defeated three Top 15 teams this season and handed its DBU worst loss since losing by 22 (83-61) at A&M-Commerce on December 6, 2018.
 
A&M-Commerce closes out the 2019 calendar year at Tarleton on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Stephenville.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions shot 63.3 percent (38-of-60) from the floor in the game. After knocking down 61.3 percent of their shots in the first half (19-of-31), the Lions improved upon that in the second half, shooting 65.5 percent (19-of-29).
- Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Deon Barrett (Pleasant Grove) tied for high point honors with 21 points apiece.
- Stewart netted his points on 9-of-11 shooting, also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out two assists.
- Barrett made five three-pointers and filled out the box score with four rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
- Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with three rebounds and three assists.
- Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) rounded out the Lions' double digit scorers with 12 points on 4-of-5 three-point shooting.
 
COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
On his team's overall performance: "That was a great performance. I really felt like we won the game with our last two days of preparation. You try to do a few subtle changes inside your scheme, and our guys really absorbed it, especially on the defensive end. I feel like that led us to get out and make our offense easy at times. That's a very good defensive team, and if we're getting the ball out of our own net, that makes it harder to get production on the offensive side. We did a really ncie job on the glass, and did the things we talked about beforehand. When you get a good game plan, you don't always know if things are going to work, but it was an exciting night. A lot of guys got to play and had success."
 
On the Lions' hot shooting: "Sometimes the ball goes in and it becomes contagious when you share the ball like we did and run crisp offense. You see different guys hitting shots, and it's not on their own play. If it wasn't their assist, it was a hockey assist and then a guy gets the advantage and scores. We did a really good job all around."
 
On the Lions' defensive effort: "We were able to make some shots in the first half to get a lead, then cause some turnovers that got us extra possessions. In the second half, the first eight minutes we made them have empty possessions, and that's how you're able to build that kind of lead."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the first seven minutes of the game, it appeared the nationally-ranked Patriot squad could have the better of the Lions, going on a 9-2 run, taking an 11-6 lead on a Carson Hughes three-pointer at the 13:43 mark.
 
This woke the Lions from their slumber, and the visiting team roared back. A&M-Commerce made eight of its next nine shots, including a 14-3 run that flipped the score. The Lions took a 21-14 lead at the 10:19 mark on a Terrell long distance connection.
 
DBU responded by getting three-pointers to fall, and the home side went ahead 24-23 with 8:19 to play in the first half. The Lions wrested the lead from the Patriots for good on an Alex Peavy (Smithson Valley) three-pointer on the next possession. The corner trey started a 10-2 rally for the Lions that gave them the lead for good.
 
While the Lions did not concede the lead, the Patriots managed to get to within one point at 33-32 with just over four minutes left in the half. A&M-Commerce proceeded to outscore its hosts by a 14-2 margin after the last media timeout of the period, and Terrell's three-pointer as time expired gave the Lions a 47-34 lead at the break. Terrell led all scorers with 12 points at the intermission.
 
Coming out of the locker room, the Lions were determined to leave no doubt that they would leave the Burg Center victorious. DBU could only make one field goal in the first four minutes, while Barrett hit a pair of three-pointers, Terrell made a layup, and Peavy converted a three-point play. The Lions took a 21-point lead at 55-34 with 17:32 to go.
 
DBU narrowed the margin to 16 points before an eight-point Lion rally featuring three-pointers from Barrett and Lara. With just over five minutes to play, A&M-Commerce took off on a final rally to emphatically stamp the win. A thunderous dunk by Stewart followed by consecutive triples from Barrett pushed the lead out to 32 points at 93-61.
 
The Lion reserves were featured for the final four-and-a-half minutes. Carius Key (Irving – MacArthur) put the Lions over the century mark with a pair of free throws and a two-handed flush by Vydal Bradford (Mansfield – Legacy) closed out a runaway Lion victory.