COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team fell behind No. 15 Dallas Baptist University early in the second half and were unable to fight all the way back in a 76-71 loss in the Field House on Thursday evening.
 
With the loss, the Lions move to 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the Lone Star Conference, while DBU is now 11-2 overall and 11-2 in league play.

The two teams will meet again at 2 p.m. Saturday at DBU's Burg Center.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) for the game with 12 made three-pointers, including a 53.1 percent (17-of-32) rate in the second half.
- Devin Bethely (Baton Rouge, La.) scored 22 points with six assists and five rebounds to lead the Lions.
- Dante Adams (Osceola, Ark.) had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
- The Lions were hampered by 23 turnovers, which the Patriots turned into 28 points.
- The Lions had a strong 43-28 advantage in rebounding.
 
HEAD COACH JARET von ROSENBERG AFTER THE GAME
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half of the contest was a true grind, with neither team able to get scoring rhythm going until late in the period. Donald Ghostone (Grand Prairie) opened the scoring with a triple on the Lions' first shot of the game, but A&M-Commerce would make only two more field goals in the first 10 minutes of action. Fortunately, the Lion defense would keep DBU from scoring as well. Another Ghostone triple at the 10-minute mark tied the game at 10-all.
 
Bethely made a layup followed by an Adams trey to push the Lion lead back to three points at 15-12 with 8:40 to play. DBU scored five straight points after that and would not trail again in the half. Augustine Ene (Carrollton - Creekview) canned a three-pointer in the final half minute to cut into the lead and make it a 27-25 lead for the Patriots at the intermission.
 
The Lions shot 30 percent (9-of-30) in the half, but held a 22-13 rebounding advantage. DBU made 44 percent of its shots (11-of-25), but both teams made only four three-pointers.
 
A&M-Commerce tied the game up on the opening possession of the second half and a Bethely three-pointer had the game tied at 30-all before DBU went on an 11-0 run. The Lions were only able to take three shots in that span and also turned the ball over four times, as the Patriots went ahead 41-30 with 14:51 to play.
 
The teams traded baskets for the next five minutes before a barrage of Lion long-range efforts. Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.), Adams, and Bethely all made three-pointers in less than a minute's time as part of five straight made Lion baskets to cut the lead to 52-49 with 8:20 to play.
 
Another DBU rally had the Lions facing a 14-point deficit entering the game's final two minutes, but the home side declined to go down without a fight. Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) made a three-pointer followed by four points from Adams on a pair of free throws and a dunk. Bethely converted a three-point play and nailed a fastbreak three-pointer late, but time simply ran out on the Lions.