CANYON– The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a 72-70 comeback win against Dallas Baptist in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Tournament on Friday night. Trailing by four in the final minute, the Lions scored the final six points to get the win.
 
The win brings the Lions to 24-8 on the season and they advance to the semifinal round of the Regional Tournament. The Patriots fall to 23-11 and are eliminated from tournament play.
 
The Lions will return to action on Saturday night as they face first-seed West Texas A&M. The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. at First United Bank Center in Canyon.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions scored the final six points of the game.
- Willie Rooks (Houston – North Forest) led the team with 21 points, hitting seven shots, including four threes.
- Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall) had 11 points and led the team with six rebounds. He also had three triples.
- Rodney Brown (Beaumont - West Brook) also scored 11 points, including five free throws.
- Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga.) also scored in double figures with 10. Trey Conrod (Kilgore) had nine points.
- There were five ties and seven lead changes in the game.
 
POSTGAME THOUGHTS FROM...
Head Coach Jaret von Rosenberg:
On DBU's play: "I want to give Dr. Flickner and his staff and players a lot of credit. They had us on the ropes multiple times. They gave us all we could handle. That's a good basketball team that is well coached. We were able to just find a way."
On the team's mentality: "It's March basketball. Everyone is either winning or going home, no matter how good your season was up to this point. We had some different lineups. We sat guys for an entire half that we are used to having in the rotation. But the group stayed together. The guys who were in there were engaged. We never quit. I credit that to our senior leadership and our guys being bought into what we are trying to do. We always talk about, you find a way to win by one or 50, it doesn't matter. That was true tonight. We just made one more play than they did tonight. That ended up being the difference in the game."
 
Senior Willie Rooks:
On guarding DBU on the three-point line: "They were spreading the basketball and being aggressive. And they were hitting tough threes. If we made a mistake, they made us pay."
On his performance: "I want to give credit to my teammates. When I missed some shots, they told me to keep shooting. When I took some tough shots, they kept me going. Without my teammates, I don't have the performance I had tonight."
 
Junior Austin Grandstaff:
On DBU's defense effort: "Defensively, they were getting in the passing lanes. They made it tough to get shots off. And they have some elite shooters on their team."
On getting the start: "It means a lot for coach to have that confidence in me. But either way, I'm trying to do whatever I can to help this team have a chance to win."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After the teams traded threes to open the game, DBU took an early lead as their first four baskets were three-pointers. The Lions trailed 13-5 after six minutes of play. The teams traded buckets before the Lions began a run of their own with 11 minutes in the half. Rooks and Grandstaff both hit threes as part of a 7-0 run to tie the game at 20 with nine minutes to play in the half.
 
The Lions then took their first lead of the game. Reid hit a pair of triples as the Lions pushed their lead to as many as six in the first half. With five minutes remaining, the Lions led 32-26. DBU answered back to go on a late run to end the half. The Patriots led 38-35 at halftime.
 
Rooks had 11 points in the first half, hitting four shots in the half. Grandstaff added eight points and Reid had seven points. The Patriots shot 54 percent in the first half while the Lions shot 41 percent. The Lions had the advantage in free throws and had only five turnovers in the half to aid their cause.
 
The game went back and forth through the entire second half. DBU pushed its lead to five early in the half before the Lions bounced back to regain the lead with back-to-back threes. After DBU tied the game, the Lions hit six points in a row to regain their largest lead of the night. The Patriots battled back to tie the game at 59 points with seven minutes left.
 
After the game was tied again, the lead changed hands several times in the final four minutes. The Patriots then hit consecutive shots to take a four-point lead with less than a minute left. That was the final points DBU would score as the Lions took control late. Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) hit a three to cut the lead. After Brown hit a free throw to cut the lead to one, Conrod hit a layup in the lane to give the Lions the lead. DBU missed a desperation three at the buzzer and the Lions won the game.