COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team returns to action in the Field House this weekend, hosting UT Tyler for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday.
 
WHO: UT Tyler at A&M-Commerce 
WHERE: Commerce | The Field House
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 22 | 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 23
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 3-3 on the season entering the weekend. UT Tyler is 2-7.

TELEVISION/LIVE VIDEO: Lone Star Conference Digital Network (Direct Link)
RADIO: Lion Sports Network | KETR-FM 88.9 (Streaming on KETR.org)
LIVE STATS: Click HERE

LIONS WELCOME LOCAL OPPOSITION
• The Lions will host UT Tyler in a cross-over weekend series after picking up a split in divisional action against UAFS.
• TAMUC is coming off of a 77-61 home victory over UAFS on Sunday afternoon.
• The Lions used a hot shooting first half to build up an insurmountable 16-point halftime lead. A&M-Commerce shot 50 percent (15-of-30) in the first half.
• Demarcus Demonia led A&M-Commerce with 21 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
• Augustine Ene scored 16 points with five rebounds and Alex Peavy netted 10 points with six boards.
• Devin Bethely passed out six assists. Bethely and Carius Key each swiped four steals.
• The Lions picked up the win in the 100th career game for head coach Jaret von Rosenberg.
 
PERIMETER EXCELLENCE
• The Lions' three-point defense was spectacular in the win over UAFS, as the visitors made only one three-pointer.
• This marked the worst three-point performance by a TAMUC opponent since Cameron made one field goal in the 2017 LSC Tournament.
• The Lions rank second in the LSC in three-point percentage defense, allowing opponents to make only 28.8 percent of long-distance attempts (34-of-118). This ranks 28th nationally.
 
DE-FENSE! DE-FENSE!
• The Lions rank third in the LSC and 13th nationally in turnovers forced per game, with opponents turning the ball over 17.3 times per game.
• TAMUC is fourth in the league in field goal percentage defense overall, with opponents making 42.5 percent of their shots.
• The Lions rank third in the LSC in scoring defense, allowing only 71.3 points per game, which would be tied for the third-lowest opponent scoring average in school history.
 
HITTING THE CENTURY MARK
• Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg coached  his 100th game as a collegiate head coach against UAFS in his fifth season.
• Sam Walker is the program leader in games coached at 487 games with a 285-202 record.
• Coach Rose becomes the eighth head coach to coach in 100 games at A&M-Commerce.
 

Rk	Coach	W	Record
1.	Sam Walker	487	285-202
2.	Jim Gudger	392	202-190
3.	Norman Pilgrim	278	152-126
4.	Paul Peak	252	134-118
5.	Jerry Matthews	225	99-126
6.	Dennis Vinzant	152	92-60
7.	Bob Rogers	147	113-34
8.	Jaret von Rosenberg	100	66-33

 
BETHELY LEADS LSC IN EFFICIENCY
• Senior point guard Devin Bethely is the LSC's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio, dishing out 2.8 assists to every turnover committed.
• This mark ranks 30th in the nation, with Michael Bradley of Mercyhurst averaging 10.0 A/TO in three games.
• Bethely's 6.0 assists per game ranks second in the LSC. Lubbock Christian's Cameron Copley leads the LSC with 37 assists in six games.
 
LSC ASSIST/TURNOVER

Rk	Player	School	Ast	TO	A/T
1	Devin Bethely	TAMUC	36	13	2.8
2	Cameron Copley	LCU	37	14	2.6
3	Carson Hughes	DBU	28	11	2.5
4	Pierre Sanders	MSU	37	15	2.5
5	JoJo Murray	WT	33	15	2.2

 
LSC ASSISTS/GAME

Rk	Player	School	Ast	Gm	APG
1	Cameron Copley	LCU	37	6	6.2
2	Devin Bethely	TAMUC	36	6	6.0
3	Daniel Venzant	SEU	47	8	5.9
4	JoJo Murray	WT	33	6	5.5
5	William Heather	DBU	34	8	4.3

 
ALL-TIME vs. UT TYLER
• This is the third all-time meeting between these two teams, with A&M-Commerce holding a 2-0 lead in the series.
• The Lions were 80-69 victors in Tyler in the first-ever meeting.
• A&M-Commerce is 1-0 at home vs. the Patriots with a 77-63 overtime win last February.
 
LOOKING AT LION HISTORY
• This is the 27th time the Lions have played on January 22, with a 16-10 overall record on this date and 10-3 home record.
• The Lions' first game on this date was a 28-26 win at Sam Houston State in 1929.
• The Lions are 1-0 on this date under Coach Rose with a 92-56 win over Dallas Christian in 2018.
 
• This is the 22nd time the Lions have played on January 23, with an 11-10 record overall and 4-1 home record.
• The Lions have not played at home on this date since 2008.
• A&M-Commerce is 1-0 on this date under Coach Rose with a 77-73 win at Western New Mexico last season.
 
D2SIDA REGIONAL RANKINGS
• The second D2SIDA Regional Rankings of the season has been announced for games through January 17.
• D2SIDA will rank six teams per region this season.
 

Rk	School (1st)	Rec	Votes
T1	Colorado School of Mines (3)	8-0	31
T1	West Texas A&M (2)	5-1	31
3	Dallas Baptist (1)	7-1	26
4	Colorado Mesa	9-0	20
5	Texas A&M-Kingsville	9-1	10
6	Lubbock Christian	6-0	6

RV: St. Edward's, 2.