COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team continues its strong start to the season, having won all five games. The Lions are 5-0 for the first time since 2017-18 and look to continue the momentum against Oklahoma Christian on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Field House.  
 
WHO: Oklahoma Christian at A&M-Commerce
WHERE: Commerce | Field House
WHEN: Saturday, December 11 at 4 p.m.
RECORDS: The Lions are 5-0 overall, the Eagles are 2-5 overall. Saturday's game does not affect the Lone Star Conference standings.   
RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked in any polls.  
 
WATCH: https://lonestarconferencenetwork.com/tamuc/
LISTEN: KETR 88.9 FM https://www.ketr.org/
LIVE STATS: http://statb.us/b/372599
TICKETS: https://lionathletics.com/tickets
GAME NOTES: TAMUC
 
FREE T-SHIRTS & IPAD GIVEAWAY
• Texas A&M-Commerce Students that are register for Spring 2022 classes by Saturday's Lion Basketball games will receive a FREE T-Shirt and be entered into the drawing for a FREE iPad.
• Academic Advisers will be in the Field House to answer any questions and assist with registration process.
• All students must Check-In at the gate to receive drawing ticket and t-shirt.
• Winner of the iPad giveaway will be announced during Halftime of the men's game.
• Must be present to win
 
FEELS LIKE 2017!
• The Lions are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since the 2017-18 season, which was fifth-year coach Jaret von Rosenberg's first season at the helm of the program.
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE EAGLES
• The Lions have not lost to the Eagles, being 7-0 and 3-0 since Oklahoma Christian joined the LSC.
• Saturday's meeting in the Field House is the first meeting in Commerce for the two teams since 2020, the last two came in Oklahoma City.
• The two teams have only played in Commerce twice coming into this weekend.
• A&M-Commerce and Oklahoma Christian will meet again in February for a game that does count towards the LSC standings. 
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
• Under third-year coach Kendre Talley, the Eagles are 2-5 to start the season, they have played two LSC teams in non-conference play thus far, splitting against DBU and Midwestern State.
• Both teams' last game came against DBU, the Lions won their game 72-70, while the Eagles fell 86-72.
• Despite the 2-5 record, the Eagles are only being outscored by -0.9 points per game. 
 
LEADING THE NATION IN BLOCKING
• A&M-Commerce is blocking 6.8 shots per game, which leads the nation.
• The Lions blocked 11 shots in the win over Harding on Monday.
• Clashon Gaffney's 4.0 blocks per game lead NCAA Divison II.
 
IT MATTERS HOW YOU FINISH
• The Lions trailed for over 34 minutes at DBU, but held the Patriots to three points in the last three minutes to escape Dallas with a 72-70 win.
• They overcame an early 10 point deficit in the first half, and led for just 2 minutes and 33 seconds.
 
ALMOST HAD ANOTHER ONE
• The Lions led for over 30 minutes at Division I South Alabama.
• A&M-Commerce led by as much as 15 points, looking for second win this season against a NCAA Division I team.
 
MAKING THE EXTRA PASS
• A&M-Commerce is averaging 17 assists per game, which is top-40 in the country.
• The Lions have capitalized on the high assists number to shoot 47.6 percent from the field.
 
THIS LION IS ON FIRE
• Jairus Roberson has scored 78 points through three games this season, 63 of the points have come beyond-the-arc.
• Against Ouachita Baptist, he scored 10 points in overtime, outscoring the Tigers 10-6 in the extra period.
• His eight made three pointers in Saturday's win over OBU are tied for second-most in program history with current assistant coach Willie Rooks.
•He is averaging 5.3 three pointers made per game, which is third in the country and has helped the Lions post a three point percentage of 43.7, which is seventh in NCAA Division II.   
 
NO...NO...NO...NOT TODAY!
• Clashon Gaffney is averaging 4.0 blocks per game through the first five games, leading the LSC.
• The Lions lead the LSC with an average of 7.0 blocks per game.
• Gaffney has had five blocks in three games, which are the most in a game for a Lion since Marqueith Russell on Feb. 16, 2017 against Tarleton.
• The Lions also lead the nation in blocking.
 
A THREAT FROM DEEEEP
• The Lions have made two buzzer-beaters from near half court this season.
• Jairus Roberson beat the first-half buzzer against Ouachita Baptist from about 40 feet away.
• Alphonso Willis also made his buzzer-beater from about 40-feet away. His shot gave the Lions the win at UTSA.
 
EXPERIENCED NEWCOMERS
• All four newcomers to the program have seen the court this season. Division I transfers Clashon Gaffney and Jairus Roberson as well as Young Harris College transfer Alphonso Willis as well as freshman Monyae Davis.
 
BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER
• Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) and Rodney Brown (Beaumont – West Brook) were sidelined most of the season last year due to injury, but have returned this season.
 
WILLIS FOR THREE!
• Alphonso Willis delivered a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer against UTSA. Lions won the game 65-62, their first win over a Division I opponent since 2014.
• The game-winning shot was featured on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 and has been viewed over 100K times across all social media platforms.
 
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY-COMMERCE ACCEPTS INVITATION TO SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
• The Southland Conference, following the unanimous approval of its presidential Board of Directors, has extended an invitation of membership to Texas A&M University-Commerce, the league and institution announced Tuesday morning.  The university, a longstanding NCAA Division II power located an hour east of Dallas, will officially join the Southland on July 1, 2022, and begin a four-year transition into Division I at the same time.
• Touting a "Best in Class" mission, mentality, and experience, Lions' athletics features sponsorship of 14 varsity sports, including men's sports of football, basketball, golf, cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field.  Women's sports include basketball, golf, soccer, softball, volleyball, cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field.
The Lions have seen remarkable success in recent years, including winning the 2017 NCAA Division II Football National Championship, highlighting five consecutive postseason football berths since 2015.  Overall, 53 A&M-Commerce athletic teams have earned NCAA postseason bids since 2015, including a record 11 teams in 2018-19.  Other performance highlights include individual NCAA track and field national championships, an NCAA softball regional championship, and multiple recent NCAA berths in volleyball, and men's and women's basketball.
• In addition to its 2017 NCAA title, the Lions' football program also won the 1972 NAIA national championship.  Other national championships have included men's basketball (NAIA 1954-55), men's golf (NAIA 1965) and men's tennis (NAIA 1972 and 1978).  Prominent student-athletes at A&M-Commerce have included NFL stars Harvey Martin, Wade Wilson and Dwight White, and noted U.S. Olympic medalist John Carlos.
• Founded in 1889, Texas A&M-Commerce serves rural and urban Northeast Texas with distinction, consistently delivering on a promise that founder Professor William Leonidas Mayo made more than a century ago: "No industrious, ambitious youth shall be denied an education if I can prevent it."  To this day, the institution remains committed to its core mission: "Educate. Discover. Achieve."
• Formerly known as East Texas State University, the 2,100-acre Commerce campus provides many opportunities for students to learn and grow. The university offers more than 135 degree programs at the bachelor's, masters and doctoral levels. A vibrant student life experience includes 14 competitive NCAA athletic teams, a thriving Greek system and more than 120 student organizations. Programs are delivered on site at the Commerce campus as well as in Dallas, Frisco, McKinney, Mesquite and Corsicana. A robust online academic menu of classes is also a point of distinction, and U.S. News & World Report has ranked several programs at Texas A&M University-Commerce among the best in the nation for 2021.
• A member of The Texas A&M University System since 1996, the institution provides quality education to an inclusive community of diverse learners as one of the most affordable universities in East Texas.  Students work with world-class professors who dedicate themselves to excellence in teaching and research. The university maintains strong relationships with local industries to create relevant academic programs and valuable internship and networking opportunities that prepare career ready graduates.
• Serving nearly 12,000 students, Texas A&M-Commerce is a leader in competency-based education, and is the nation's first institution to offer an accredited competency-based bachelor's degree in criminal justice and organizational leadership. The agriculture program is also a national stand-out, featuring one of the only programs where students grow their own experimental crops on the university's 1,500-acre farm. In addition, A&M-Commerce upholds a 130-year legacy as an exceptional teachers' college, graduating more than 400 certified educators in 2019. In 2020, the university opened the 113,470-square-foot Nursing and Health Sciences Building, featuring a state-of-the-art simulation hospital.
 
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE MEMBERS ON JULY 1, 2022 – AS OF NOVEMBER 18, 2021

Institution	Offers Men's Basketball?
A&M-COMMERCE	YES
Houston Baptist	Yes
McNeese State	Yes
New Orleans	Yes
Nicholls State	Yes
Northwestern State	Yes
Southeastern Louisiana	Yes
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Yes