FORT SMITH, Ark. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team erased a 14-point second half deficit but could not hold on to a narrow lead late in a 72-67 loss to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith in the Stubblefield Center on Friday night.
 
With the loss, A&M-Commerce falls to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the Lone Star Conference, while UAFS is now 2-3 overall and 2-3 in league play.
 
The two teams are scheduled to meet again at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Field House in Commerce.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions made one more field goal and one more three-pointer than UAFS, but the home team connected on eight more free throws in the game.
- A&M-Commerce made 24-of-62 (38.7 percent) of its field goal attempts, and only 34.3 percent (12-of-35) in the second half.
- A&M-Commerce had two double-double performances in the game, as Augustine Ene (Carrollton – Creekview) scored 13 points and had 11 rebounds and Demarcus Demonia (Fort Washington, Md.) had 12 points and 10 rebounds, with each player dishing out two assists.
- This marked the first time A&M-Commerce had a pair of double-doubles in the same game since the 2019 LSC Championship game when Willie Rooks and Trey Conrod did so.
- Joining that duo in double figures was Devin Bethely (Baton Rouge, La.) with 13 points, five assists, and four steals, Carius Key (Irving – MacArthur) with 12 points, and Dante Adams (Osceola, Ark.) with 10 points.
- There were four ties and 14 lead changes in the contest.
 
HEAD COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME:
On the fight the Lions showed
"It's kind of a first for us all year. Losing's not acceptable, but this is the first time in 2021 that we've looked anything like we're trying to play. There's obviously a lot of stuff to clean up and we've got to be sharper, but the thing we were doing on both sides of the floor are what we are trying to do, and this is the first time it's looked anything like that. We were short-handed and some guys got different minutes, and it was good to see some guys have some success who hadn't even played yet this year."
 
On the team's overall performance
"When you look at the stat sheet, percentage-wise we're still not clicking and totally where we need to be and doing what we're capable of doing, but this is what our stat sheet should look like. Five guys in double figures and one guy with seven points means the ball is moving around and being evenly distributed, which makes us hard to guard. We missed layups and didn't make enough plays. You can't shoot 37 percent and give up nearly 50 percent in the second half. But it was misses while we were doing what we're trying to do as a team, and that's the most encouraging part."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams came out of the gate strong, each making three of their first four shots on the way to an 8-all tie in just over three minutes of action. Key scored the Lions' first five points.
 
From there, the lid closed back on the hoops, as A&M-Commerce missed five straight field goals and UAFS was unsuccessful on seven consecutive attempts. A&M-Commerce took the lead at the 4:53 mark following two Donald Ghostone (Grand Prairie) baskets and an Adams bucket to make it a 26-25 game.
 
UAFS scored six straight points before Demonia hammered home a dunk to close out A&M-Commerce scoring, as TAMUC was held without a field goal in the final two minutes. UAFS led 33-30 at the intermission.
 
At halftime, A&M-Commerce was shooting 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the field and had an 18-16 rebounding advantage, but UAFS made one more field goal and two more three-pointers in the period. Demonia had nine points and seven rebounds at the break.
 
UAFS jumped out to its largest lead of the game in the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the second half, as A&M-Commerce only notched triples from Key and Ghostone in that span. With just under 13 minutes to play, UAFS led 50-36.
 
TAMUC snapped that skid with a Key layup which sparked a 15-4 run over the next five minutes. Bethely's three-pointer with just under eight minutes remaining cut the deficit to 54-51.
 
After UAFS scored a three-point play, A&M-Commerce rallied again with another Bethely trey and four free throws. Adams' layup at the 3:37 mark gave the blue and gold a 60-59 lead.
 
Unfortunately for A&M-Commerce, the home side was re-energized at the same time the TAMUC shooting went cold. UAFS scored seven straight points to take a six-point lead.
 
Ene drained a three-pointer to get the game to one possession with half a minute to go, and the Lions drew a charge with 17.0 seconds to play. Demonia flew at the rim and was fouled, but his dunk attempt did not convert. He made one free throw and TAMUC had a final chance in the waning seconds, but the three-pointer was unsuccessful and UAFS emerged with the win.