COMMERCE—The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team picked up a thrilling 83-75 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday evening. After trailing by double figures midway through the second half, the Lions made a huge push at the end of the game to get the win.
 
The win brings the Lions to 11-5 on the season and 7-3 in the Lone Star Conference. UAFS falls to 6-10 and 2-8 in conference play.
 
The Lions return to action on Saturday at 4 p.m. with a matchup against Oklahoma Christian at the Field House.
 
HEAD COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
On the win: "I give a lot of credit to Fort Smith. They had a great game plan. They did a really nice job and we just made a few plays in that little spurt that we went on to get back in the game. We gave ourselves a chance in the last four minutes like we always say and we were able to make enough plays to win."
On the contributions of several players: "We got contributions all around tonight. Obviously Wayne had a huge game. Deon made some free throws late. Alberto made some unbelievable drives and free throws. And he really defended tonight."
On keeping poise: "It was a credit to our guys. Things could have blown up when we got down by more than 10 there. We could have unraveled. But credit to our guys for keeping their poise."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions shot 30-of-63 (47.6 percent) in the game with an excellent 56.7 percent (17-of-30) rate in the second half. UAFS shot 54.7 percent (29-of-53) in the contest.
- Wayne Stewart (Philadephia, Pa.) scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He made 11 of 17 shots in the game and shot 9-of-11 in the second half for 23 points.
- Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) scored 15 points, grabbed four rebounds, and had four steals.
- Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall) netted 12 points off the bench.
- Alberto Moreno (Ingenio, Gran Canaria) scored nine points with seven key points in the second half.
- UAFS' Brian Halums scored 44 points and had 13 rebounds.
- A&M-Commerce had a 33-28 edge in rebounding and forced 13 UAFS turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After UAFS made the first basket of the game, the Lions took the lead and went on a 9-0 run. The teams then battled back and forth, as the Lions held an eight point lead at the midway mark of the half. However, UAFS then went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 22 with eight minutes left in the half.
 
It was a battle back and forth for the remainder of the half, as the Lion lead hovered between two points and six. Grandstaff traded a pair of threes with UAFS as the Lions were neck-and-neck with their competitors. At halftime, the Lions held a 34-32 lead.
 
Grandstaff had 10 points in the first half to lead A&M-Commerce, including three triples. Terrell and Stewart added seven apiece. UAFS' Brian Halums had 23 points and nine rebounds in the first half. UAFS shot 52 percent in the first half. The Lions benefitted from nine second chance points and 16 points off of UAFS's nine turnovers.
 
The lead changed hands twice in the early parts of the second half as the teams battled. UAFS opened the second half on an 11-2 surge, and a three-pointer at the 17:38 mark gave the guests a 43-39 lead. UAFS continually pulled away through the opening portion of the second half. The guests were ahead by seven points with 12 minutes to play, then exploded for a 7-0 run in just under a minute to go ahead 61-47 with 10:53 to go for their largest lead of the contest.

Over the next five minutes, A&M-Commerce fought back on the strength of Stewart's shooting. He went 5-of-5 from the floor and brought the Lions back to within three points at 67-64 with 5:12 to go on a three-pointer. With the Field House crowd re-energized, it was Moreno's time to shine. He hit a pair of free throws and made consecutive free throws to put A&M-Commerce ahead 68-67 with 3:27 to go.

UAFS was able to get back ahead by two points shortly thereafter and had a one-point lead with two minutes to play. Deon Barrett (Lancaster) tied the game up with a free throw and Moreno gave the home Lions the lead for good with a driving layup at the 1:12 mark. A&M-Commerce led by one with just over 30 seconds to play when UAFS failed to box out on a Barrett shot and Stewart jammed home a thunderous putback dunk to put the home side ahead 77-74. UAFS cut the lead to two on a free throw, and on the ensuing inbounds pass, Terrell was flagrantly fouled as he made a basket. He was then fouled on the ensuing play, and that six-point possession allowed A&M-Commerce to seal the come-from-behind victory.