COMMERCE– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team will play its final two games of the regular season this week. The Lions are on the road as they face UT Permian Basin on Thursday and Western New Mexico on Saturday.
 
UT Permian Basin
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (20-6, 12-4 LSC) at UT Permian Basin (13-13, 6-10 LSC)
WHERE: UTPB Gymnasium in Odessa, Texas
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: https://utpbfalcons.com/watch/
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
 
Western New Mexico
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce at Western New Mexico (5-18, 2-14 LSC)
WHERE: Drag's Court in Silver City, New Mexico
WHEN: Saturday, Mar. 2 at 5 p.m. CST
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wnmu/
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
 
The Lions are coming off of a split week last week. The Lions defeated Eastern New Mexico on Thursday before falling short against West Texas A&M. Despite the loss, head coach Jaret von Rosenberg liked the way his team competed in both games and for the fight they showed in both contests.
 
"I'm proud of our guys," he said. "Our guys really competed at a high level. Thursday night was really good. We were really good offensively and really good in spurts defensively. That let us get a lead that we were able to hold onto in the end. Unfortunately we couldn't send our seniors out the right way on Saturday. We give a lot of credit to West Texas. We didn't play our best on either side of the ball, and if you do that, you aren't going to beat a really good team like WT. I thought we were very competitive and I think we did a nice job of showing up and giving WT a good game. We just didn't come out in the end."
 
The Lions finished their home season with a 11-2 record. von Rosenberg thanked the Lion fans for their support throughout the entire season.
 
"It has been unbelievable," he said. "The Field House has been rocking all year. It's a credit to our administration and staff and our players for getting out and getting visible and inviting people to the games. The community really supported us and showed up to games, as well as the student body and the university. We take a lot of pride as a program of playing well at the Field House and putting on a show for our fans. I think we had a lot of good games and gave the fans a great atmosphere as far as the play on the court. And they returned the favor with how engaged they were every night."
 
The Lions now head out on the road for the final two games of the regular season. The Lions face UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico. Still fighting for the second seed in the LSC standings, von Rosenberg knows neither team will go down without a fight. He knows his team will have to bring their best if they want to have a chance to come out on top.
 
"We have to play well," he said. "That's what I've been talking about since the first game of conference and I'll keep saying it for our last two. We have to play well on both sides of the ball. UTPB is very good. They are in every game they play and they can definitely beat us. They are expecting to win on their floor. Then Western New Mexico, they beat us. They are one of the two losses we had at home. From that standpoint, our guys will be very engaged, knowing they can beat us and knowing we have to be ready to play.
 
"It goes back to execution on both sides of the ball. We are still continuing to grow. We are trying to minimize mistakes. This time of the year, teams are all playing well. They have their identities. The team that makes the least mistakes and is the most efficient on both sides of the ball is usually going to win."