CANYON– The No. 25 Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team will host two Lone Star Conference matchups this week. The Lions host Western New Mexico on Thursday and UT Permian Basin on Saturday.
 
Dallas Baptist
WHO: Texas A&M-Commerce (23-8, 13-5 LSC) vs. Dallas Baptist (23-10, 12-4 HC)
WHERE: First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas
WHEN: Friday, Mar. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
LIVE STATS: Click HERE
LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/wtamu
LIVE AUDIO: ketr.org
TICKETS: Click HERE
 
The Lions are coming off an appearance in the LSC Tournament Championship game. Although the Lions lost the game in the final minute, head coach Jaret von Rosenberg liked how his team competed and was in the game until the final buzzer.
 
"We try to always keep getting better throughout the year," he said. "You always hope you can peak at the right time and play good basketball in March. That was exciting for our guys to get the opportunity to play in the conference tournament and play well. We were excited about that. When you go through injuries and adversity, like everybody deals with, but to come together, get out to Frisco in front of a great home crowd and to be able to compete at a high level and give ourselves a chance in the LSC Championship game, I'm excited for our group and our program."
 
The Lions have now qualified for the NCAA Tournament as the fourth seed in the South Central Region. Having qualified for the tournament in both of his season as coach, von Rosenberg is excited to still be playing, seeing that a lot of teams in the country are no longer competing.
 
"We are excited to get into the NCAA Tournament," he said. "A lot of teams are at home right now. A lot of coaches are starting to recruit and worrying about next year. We have the opportunity to continue to play. It's exciting for our seniors that came in with me in my first year last year to cap off their senior year with another shot at the NCAA Tournament. That's what every college basketball player and coach wants to do is play deep into March. "
 
The Lions draw Dallas Baptist in the first round of the tournament. The Lions defeated DBU in December but, three months later, von Rosenberg knows both teams have morphed into entirely new teams.
 
"Coach Flickner, I've known him for a long time now, since I was a player," he said. "He does a really good job with his group and his program. That was a season ago the last time we played them. They had guys not playing in the game and we had guys not playing in the game. Both teams are totally different right now, as are most teams three months later. We are playing a really good basketball team in DBU. At the end of the day, you have to do what you do and do it well. And do it well for 40 minutes and make the right decisions on both sides of the ball. That's what we will be working on."
 
Entering the NCAA Tournament for the second year, von Rosenberg has a team full of players who were with him the first time. His message to the team is simple, do what you have been doing.
 
"You can't treat it like any other game, because it is the NCAA Tournament, but really what you have to talk about is what got you here is how you have to continue to play or you will go home quickly," he said. "We can't deviate from how we play and how we try to do things. A lot of the guys on this roster played in the tournament last year. They got a taste of both winning and losing. They understand that either can happen very quickly. But I have a senior group that has been in a lot of college battles. I don't think the NCAA Tournament per se will faze us, but DBU could cause a lot of problems with how well they play on both ends of the floor. It's all about execution, doing what we do and doing it to the best of our ability as a group and seeing what happens. If we give ourselves a chance in the last four minutes, that's all you can ask for.