ODESSA – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball nearly eliminated a 20-point second half deficit - trailing the University of Texas of the Permian Basin by only four points in the final minute – before ultimately falling 102-92 in the Falcon Dome on Thursday night.
 
With the loss, A&M-Commerce moves to 20-7 overall and 12-5 in the Lone Star Conference. UT Permian Basin is now 14-13 overall and 7-10 in the league.
 
The Lions play their final regular season game of the year at Western New Mexico on Saturday at 4 p.m. MST (5 p.m. CST).
 
COACH JARET VON ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
Thoughts on the night: "That's a good offensive basketball team and at the end of the day, if you give up 55 percent from the floor and 100 points, you are not going to win. I don't care who you are. Everyone who played in the game made mistakes and everyone who played also did some positive things."
 
On the defense: "Defensive breakdowns hurt us and they made us pay. Defensively, we just didn't look connected tonight. We ended up battling back, evening up some of the stats, which I thought we would. But they went on a run and we got good shots but started the second half 3-for-15. Most of those were really good shots and we just didn't knock them down. And then we didn't get stops. That's what we've done to people and they did it to us tonight."
 
On the bench scoring: "Wayne almost had a double-double. Cal came in and gave us great minutes. It was good to see Austin back out there."
 
On closing the regular season at Western New Mexico on Saturday: "We will rest up and prepare. We have to find a way to win, whether it's by one or by 50. We will be looking to find a way to get a win down in Silver City."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions made just under half of their field goal attempts, shooting 49.3 percent (33-of-67) from the floor. On the other end of the floor, UT Permian Basin made 55.0 percent (33-of-60) of its shots, including 60.6 percent in the first half.
- Willie Rooks (Houston – North Forest) led five Lions in double figure scoring, with 20 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
- Srdan Budimir (Karadjordjevo, Serbia) made three important late three-pointers on the way to 16 points with five rebounds.
- Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) was just shy of a double-double off the bench with 14 points and nine rebounds.
- Trey Conrod (Kilgore) scored 12 points with four assists and four rebounds.
- Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) netted 10 points off the bench.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lions roared out to an early lead, connecting on seven of their first eight shots – including three of four from three-point range. A&M-Commerce had taken a 17-11 lead with 15:34 to go at the game's first media timeout.
 
Despite the early advantage, the Lion shooting cooled off while the Falcons stayed hot. The six-point margin was quickly eliminated, and the Falcons regained the lead at 25-24 with 11:31 left in the half. The Lions flipped the lead back in their favor briefly, but UTPB went on an 8-0 run. A pair of Falcon triples extended the lead and the home side took a 54-42 lead into the dressing room at halftime.
 
Rooks netted the first three points of the second half to narrow the deficit back to single digits, but eight straight UTPB points gave the hosts momentum. Long-range shooting success for UT Permian Basin in the second half allowed the Falcons to stretch the lead to 20 points at 82-62 with just over seven minutes remaining.
 
A quick 10-3 run, including a Clarence Evans (Austin – Aggieland) fastbreak three-pointer, gave the Lions a glimpse at the comeback possibility. Even trailing by 12 points inside the final minute and a half, the Lions continued to battle. Budimir sank a trio of three-pointers in the final minutes, with the second long-range jumper cutting the lead to 95-89, and the third cutting the lead to four points at 96-92 in the final 30 seconds.
 
The Falcons connected on a pair of free throws to go back up by six, and a Lion three-point attempt rattled out. TAMUC was enticed to foul and take forced shots in the final seconds, and UTPB finished off the game with seven consecutive made free throws.