COMMERCE – For the second straight night, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team fought back from a late deficit for a four-point win over UT Tyler, as the Lions picked up a 78-74 victory over the Patriots in the Field House on Saturday.
 
The Lions move to 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the Lone Star Conference, while UT Tyler falls to 2-9 overall and 1-9 in LSC play.
 
A&M-Commerce returns to action next Friday on the road with the first of two games at Angelo State. Tipoff on January 29 in San Angelo is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions were perfect at the free throw line, going 16-of-16 from the charity stripe to establish a school record for made free throws without a miss. The previous record of 14-of-14 was set on February 16, 1970, in a 66-64 loss at Sul Ross State. This is the third overall perfect free throw night on record, including a 3-for-3 night vs. Angelo State on February 1, 2020.
- Augustine Ene (Carrollton – Creekview) led the Lions in scoring with 21 points and tied for the team lead in rebounds with six. This marked the third consecutive game where the Lions' leading scorer had 21 markers.
- Demarcus Demonia (Fort Washington, Md.) had 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
- Devin Bethely (Baton Rouge, La.) and Dante Adams (Osceola, Ark.) each scored 11 points.
- The Lions shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the floor and picked up the win despite UT Tyler shooting 50.9 percent (28-of-55).
- There were 11 ties and 17 lead changes in the game and neither team led by double digits at any point in the game.
 
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH COLEMAN FURST AFTER THE GAME

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half was a dogfight throughout, with neither side able to extend a lead to more than two possessions in the opening 20 minutes of action. UT Tyler took the lead with a pair of free throws on the opening possession, then the game was tied with a Bethely jumper. The Patriots did not fall behind A&M-Commerce in the first eight and a half minutes of the game and led by as many as five points.
 
The Lions took their first lead of the game thanks to a 9-3 run capped by a Carius Key (Irving – MacArthur) steal and breakaway dunk to put A&M-Commerce up 16-15 with 11:28 on the clock. The lead see-sawed back and forth throughout the half until A&M-Commerce took its largest lead of the period inside the last minute of action. A pair of Adams free throws and an Ene jumper made it 35-31 before a final UTT jumper ahead of the horn.
 
There were seven ties and nine lead changes in the half, as A&M-Commerce shot 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the floor and UT Tyler made 40.7 percent (11-of-27) of its shots. Ene's 10 points led the Lions at the break and neither team missed a free throw in the frame.
 
The second half was also closely fought, with key segments leaning the Lions' way. With 16:15 on the clock, Ene made a basket and UT Tyler was assessed a pair of technical fouls. Ene made all four free throws for a six-point possession which gave A&M-Commerce a 48-43 lead.
 
UT Tyler took the lead with 11:44 to play and the guests stretched that lead to nine points with 5:30 to go. The Lions answered with an Adams triple, Key layup, and Ene three-pointer to narrow the gap back down to 65-64 with 4:09 to play.

With just under two minutes to play, Demonia converted a three-point play to take the lead back for the Lions at 70-68. UT Tyler led as the clock ticked under a minute to play but Demonia converted a basket shortly after. The Lions got a defensive stop and Bethely gave the Lions the lead with a late layup. A&M-Commerce made four free throws in the final 10 seconds of action to seal the victory.