COMMERCE – Wayne Stewart converted a three-point play with 6.9 seconds on the clock to break a 69-all tie and give the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team a 73-69 win over visiting Cameron University on Thursday night.
 
With the win, the Lions move to 8-4 overall and 4-2 in the Lone Star Conference. Cameron falls to 2-9 overall and 1-4 in the LSC.
 
A&M-Commerce hosts Midwestern State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting and also grabbed eight rebounds. He now leads the LSC in shooting percentage at 66.7 percent, over 11 percent more than the second place qualifier.
- Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall) scored 16 points as one of only two Lions in double digit scoring.
- The Lions shot 26-of-63 (41.3 percent) from the field and 36.4 percent (8-of-22) from three-point range and led by as many as 12 points in the game.
- Cameron had a 42-36 rebounding edge and 20 second chance points to the Lions' 11.
- Nine different Lions were credited with a steal, though only Clarence Evans (Austin – Aggieland Panthers) had more than one.
 
HEAD COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
On the team's offensive struggles compared to recent games: "We just were not sharp. Today we did a pretty good job from the scouting report standpoint of how they want to play, what we want to take away, and how we want to guard. We were up 10 and got point blank shots at the rim, they were contested because Cameron's a good team, but they're shots that we usually make."
 
On Cameron's comeback and the go-ahead possession: "You let a team stick around, they start getting to the foul line and were all over the offensive glass, but we found a way to win. If we lose that game or it goes into overtime or whatever and I have two timeouts I don't call late, I'd be kicking myself, but we thought we didn't want to give them a chance to get set, and this time it worked out for us."
 
On the defensive effort after the Tarleton loss: "You always like to get better after a loss and we held them to 42 percent from the floor and 21 percent from three and that's not even first shot defense. What really killed us was putting them on the free throw line so many times with fouls, but that could be because we're coming out of the break. All in all we'll take it."
 
On the community support: "It was an unbelievable crowd tonight for January 2^nd. You don't know what to expect when students aren't back on campus. Our community really came out, and that may have been the extra edge."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The early stages of the game belonged to the Aggies, as the visitors led 10-4 after the first four minutes of action. A&M-Commerce made only two of its first nine shots before Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) snapped the skid with a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 10-all with 15:20 to play in the half. That was the beginning of a nine-point run for the Lions.
 
Cameron regained a slim lead before Grandstaff canned back-to-back triples and Alex Peavy (Smithson Valley) made three free throws. The nine-point rally erased a two-point deficit and put the Lions ahead 23-16 with 7:56 left in the period.
 
In the final phase of the opening half, the Lions would lead by as many as eight points, but weren't able to go ahead by double figures in the opening period. Alberto Moreno (Ingenio, Gran Canaria) hit a three-pointer with 24 seconds remaining and the Lions led at the break by a 36-28 score.
 
Grandstaff had 11 points at the half, as the Lions held advantages in both three-point shooting and free throw shooting in the period.
 
Stewart hit a three-pointer on the opening possession of the second half to give the Lions the first double figure lead of the game at 39-28. Grandstaff's fastbreak layup after a Moreno steal at the 17:17 mark gave the Lions the largest lead by either side all night at 44-32.
 
The Aggies narrowed their deficit down to five points over the course of the next four minutes, but a 6-1 Lion run on buckets by Stewart, Moreno, and Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) stretched the lead back to 10 points at 55-45 with 10:23 to go. Cameron suddenly found its shooting stroke briefly and scored the game's next 10 points and tied the game up at 55-all with 8:39 to play.
 
From there, the game stayed within two possessions in either side's favor. Cameron led 61-57 at the 6:13 mark after a six-point rally, followed by A&M-Commerce's 10-2 run. Stewart made a fastbreak layup at the four-minute mark to put the home side up 67-63.
 
Cameron battled back to tie the game at 69-all with 2:07 to play, but the pressure clamped down on both sides from there, as neither team scored for two minutes. Peavy snagged a defensive rebound with around 20 seconds to play, and the Lions elected to play for the last shot on the run without a timeout. Stewart drove from the top of the key and was fouled as he rolled in a layup with 6.9 seconds on the clock. His free throw made it a 72-69 advantage and Isaiah Wiggins (Harlem, N.Y.) stole the ensuing inbounds pass. He made one free throw and sealed the tight win for the blue and gold.