SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team played a nearly error-free ball game on the way to an 87-66 win over Western New Mexico University in the regular season finale at Drag's Court on Saturday evening.
 
The Lions finish the regular season with a record of 21-7 overall and 13-5 in the Lone Star Conference. WNMU ends its season at 5-20 overall and 2-16 in league play.
 
A&M-Commerce tied with Angelo State for second place in the LSC standings and earned the second seed in the LSC Tournament based on conference tiebreaking procedures. The men's LSC Tournament will be held next Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Comerica Center in Frisco.
 
The Lions' first round matchup is seventh-seeded UT Permian Basin at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday.
 
COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
On only giving up four turnovers in the game: "It's fun to see your guys see success from a game plan. When you go on the road in college basketball, you have to take care of the basketball and you have to rebound. We did a heck of a job doing both of those things tonight. To only have four turnovers in 40 minutes on the road, a heck of a job by our group."
 
On everyone being able to score and contribute: "Everyone who played scored, which is a fun way to play basketball. And everyone had a rebound. That's fun. You go through adversity all throughout the season. But to go into a locker room where everyone contributed and got to be a part of a big road win, that's really exciting."
 
On the prospect of playing UTPB in the LSC Tournament: "I've been in this league as an assistant and as a head coach now for two years, we know what this is. You go into the conference tournament and you are going to play teams you are very familiar with. It's about who is executing, who is being unselfish and who is controlling the paint and the ball. Hopefully, seeing our success tonight, we will understand the tempo we need to play at to be successful. That is the biggest thing we have to do to be successful against Permian Basin on Thursday."
 
On having a home-court advantage in Frisco: "We will have a great crowd. Our fans are unbelievable. They travel to the conference tournament. We appreciate that. We'll see what we can do to try and win a championship this next weekend."

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- A&M-Commerce turned the ball over only four times, including a turnover credited when the Lions dribbled out the shot clock late in the game. Conversely, TAMUC forced the Mustangs to turn the ball over 17 times.
-The Lions held a 43-30 rebounding edge, including 16 offensive rebounds. This resulted in the Lions taking 19 more shots than the Mustangs. A&M-Commerce shot 42.9 percent (33-of-77) in the game.
- Five Lions scored in double figures, led by 20 points and seven rebounds by Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) off the bench.
- Willie Rooks (Houston – North Forest) notched a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. He also added three assists.
- Trey Conrod (Kilgore) scored 12 points with six rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
- Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall) and Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) each scored 11 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The home team was on the positive side of the scoreboard for most of the first half, leading by as many as nine points at 20-11 with under 12 minutes left on the clock. A Rooks fastbreak layup with 8:30 to play cut the lead to one possession at 26-24, and the senior made a pair of free throws at the 6:45 mark to give the Lions their first lead at 31-30.
 
The lead went back and forth for the next few minutes, then A&M-Commerce went on a 10-0 run to close out the half, holding Western off the board for the final 3:43. Conrod made a layup, quickly stole the ball, then raced down the floor for a thunderous dunk. The final six points of the half came on a pair of Grandstaff three-pointers. The Lions took a 47-39 lead into the dressing room at the break. The eight-point margin came on the Lions' 8-0 advantage in points from turnovers.
 
Conrod scored a jumper a few seconds into the second half to give the Lions their first double digit lead at 49-39. The Mustangs would get no closer than eight points the rest of the night. A 7-0 run by A&M-Commerce was punctuated by a Rooks three-point play, pushing the lead to 15 points at 62-47 with 12 minutes to play.
 
The Mustangs were able to whittle the deficit back down to eight points at 67-59 with 6:30 to play, but the Lions denied the home side the opportunity for a second upset. Eight straight A&M-Commerce points were emphasized by a Stewart three-point play, a Stewart three-pointer, and a Terrell slam.
 
That Lion surge took the wind out of the Mustangs' proverbial sails, and the Lions were able to push the lead to as many as 24 points in the final stages, taking positive momentum into the LSC tournament.