FORT SMITH, Ark. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team erased a 13-point halftime deficit but could not find the winning edge in a 75-65 loss to UA Fort Smith in the Stubblefield Center on Saturday evening.
 
A&M-Commerce completes the regular season with a 17-11 overall record and 13-9 Lone Star Conference mark. UA Fort Smith is now 13-15 overall and 9-13 in league play.
 
TAMUC is the eighth seed in next week's LSC Championship and will have a rematch of Saturday's game when it hosts ninth-seed UAFS in the Field House at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets are on sale now at www.WeAreLionsTix.com.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Wayne Stewart (Philadelphia, Pa.) led Lion scorers with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting despite battling foul trouble throughout the night.
- Darnell Wright (Chicago, Ill.) scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench.
- Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) netted 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.
- Both teams made 26 field goals in the game with TAMUC shooting 49.1 percent and UAFS shooting 50.0 percent. UAFS made 19 free throws to A&M-Commerce's 10.

COACH ROSE AFTER THE GAME
CLICK HERE to see coach von Rosenberg's thoughts after the game

HOW IT HAPPENED
The early stages of the game saw scoring go back and forth, with neither side claiming a lead of more than two possessions in the first 5:20. UAFS went on a six-point run and took an 11-point lead at 22-11 with 11:14 to play. A&M-Commerce fought back with a pair of free throws by Alex Peavy (Smithson Valley), a three-pointer from Austin Grandstaff (Rockwall), and a Terrell layup to bring the deficit down to four points at 22-18.
 
The margin was six points inside the final three minutes of the first half, but A&M-Commerce could not score in the final 2:30 of the period. UAFS scored the final seven points of the half to take a 39-26 edge into the halftime break.
 
A&M-Commerce was able to get back in the game within the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second half. Stewart scored nine points in that span, and a Terrell layup at the 13:35 mark cut the UAFS advantage down to 47-43.
 
TAMUC went on an 11-4 run in the next four minutes, and four straight points from Wright gave A&M-Commerce a 54-53 lead with 8:32 left in the game. Unfortunately for the blue and gold, UAFS went on a 12-3 surge in the next 3:30 of action, with a pair of dunks by Brian Halums punctuating the 64-57 lead by the hosts with 5:00 left.
 
A&M-Commerce was able to get the deficit down to five points in the final 1:13 of play, but looks at the rim fell short, and UAFS was able to close out the game with free throws.