COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team returns to action in the Field House on Thursday night, hosting nationally-ranked Dallas Baptist University for the first of a pair of divisional games
 
WHO: DBU at A&M-Commerce 
WHERE: Commerce | The Field House
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 4
RECORDS: A&M-Commerce is 5-3 overall and 4-3 in the Lone Star Conference. DBU is 10-2 overall and in LSC play.
RANKINGS: A&M-Commerce is unranked, while DBU is ranked No. 15 in the NABC Coaches' Poll and No. 21 in the D2SIDA Poll.

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 RETURN TO ACTION VS. DBU
• The Lions will host DBU in the first game of a divisional series after a prolonged layoff.
• The Lions are on a three-game winning streak, with all three wins at home.
• In their last matchup, the Lions fought back from a late deficit to take a 78-74 win over UT Tyler.
• Augustine Ene 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 had 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
• Devin Bethely and Dante Adams 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.
 
CHARITY STRIPE PERFECTION
• The Lions were perfect at the free throw line in the UT Tyler game on Jan. 23, 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.
• This is one of nine games in Division II this season with a perfect conversion rate and 15 or more attempts.
 
PERIMETER EXCELLENCE
• The Lions have been fantastic in limiting their opposition from converting on three-point attempts, ranking second in the LSC and 17th nationally with an opponents' three-point percentage of 28.4.
• This has helped the Lions to rank fourth in the league in scoring defense, as TAMUC allows 72.1 points per game. Since the first game of the season, no team has scored more than 75 points on the Lions.
 
FIRE AND ICE
• This game will feature two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of scoring.
• A&M-Commerce ranks fourth in the league in scoring defense, allowing 72.1 points per game.
• DBU ranks second in the league in scoring offense at 90.3 points per game.
• Conversely, both teams rank 12th in the LSC in the opposite category, with the Lions scoring 72.8 points per game and the Patriots allowing 80.2 points per game.
• DBU has the league's leading scorer in Chandler Jacobs (22.1 ppg).
 
BETHELY DISHES IT OUT
• Senior point guard Devin Bethely is the second in the LSC in assists and third in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• NCAA and LSC stats list statistics rounded to the nearest tenth, with Carson Hughes, Cameron Copley, and Bethely all reading at 2.8, but separated by .06 assist-to-turnover.
 
LSC ASSIST/TURNOVER

Rk	Player	School	Ast	TO	A/T
1	Carson Hughes	DBU	48	17	2.82
2	Cameron Copley	LCU	64	23	2.78
3	Devin Bethely	TAMUC	47	17	2.76
4	JoJo Murray	WT	33	15	2.2
5	Lloyd Daniels	LCU	32	15	2.1

 
LSC ASSISTS/GAME

Rk	Player	School	Ast	Gm	APG
1	Cameron Copley	LCU	64	10	6.4
2	Devin Bethely	TAMUC	47	8	5.9
3	Daniel Venzant	SEU	62	11	5.6
4	JoJo Murray	WT	33	6	5.5
5	Carson Hughes	DBU	48	12	4.0

 
ALL-TIME vs. DBU
• This is the 27th all-time meeting between these two teams, with A&M-Commerce holding an 18-8 lead in the series.
• The Lions are on a four-game winning streak against the Patriots and have won eight of the last nine games in the series.
• A&M-Commerce rolled to a 102-78 win at DBU last season.
• The Lions are 9-1 all-time against the Patriots in the Field House and have not lost at home to DBU since 1979.
 
LOOKING AT LION HISTORY
• This is the 32nd time the Lions have played on February 4, with a 15-16 record overall and 7-7 home record.
• The Lions lost to Eastern New Mexico on this date in 2017, 72-65, at home.
• The Lions are 3-5 on this date in the Field House.
 
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
1	Colorado School of Mines (2)	9-0	26
	Lubbock Christian (2)	10-0	26
3	West Texas A&M (1)	5-0	23
4	Texas A&M-Kingsville	11-1	14
5	Dallas Baptist	10-2	8
	Colorado Mesa	10-1	8

 
CAREER PERCENTAGE LEADERS
• Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg is ranked third in school history in career winning percentage.
 

Rk	Coach	W	Record
1.	Bob Rogers	.769	113-34
2.	Will Hill Acker	.708	46-19
3.	Jaret von Rosenberg	.676	69-33
4.	Darrell Tully	.621	59-36
5.	Dennis Vinzant	.605	92-60
6.	Sam Walker	.585	285-202
7.	Norman Pilgrim	.547	152-126
8.	Paul Peak	.532	134-118
9.	Jim Gudger	.515	202-190
10.	Jerry Matthews	.440	99-126

 
MOVING UP THE RANKS
• Head coach Jaret von Rosenberg is now eighth all-time in wins at A&M-Commerce.
 

Rk	Coach	W	Season
1.	Sam Walker	285	17 (2000-17)
2.	Jim Gudger	202	14 (1969-82)
3.	Norman Pilgrim	152	11 (1957-67)
4.	Paul Peak	134	9 (1991-99)
5.	Bob Rogers	113	5 (1952-56)
6.	Jerry Matthews	99	8 (1983-90)
7.	Dennis Vinzant	92	8 (1937-45)
8.	Jaret von Rosenberg	69	4 (2017-pr)
9.	Darrell Tully	59	4 (1946-49)
10.	Will Hill Acker	46	3 (1928-30)