COMMERCE – For the third time in the last four games, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team led wire-to-wire, picking up a 77-56 win over the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas on Thursday night in the Field House.
 
The Lions knocked down 12 three pointers on their way to their fifth Lone Star Conference win of the season. A&M-Commerce is 13-4 overall, 5-3 in conference play, while the Javelinas are now 10-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play.
 
Thursday night was the 131^st meeting and final regular season meeting between the two teams as LSC foes. The Lions are 76-55 all-time against the Javelinas.
 
Augustine Ene (Carrollton – Creekview) scored the first points of the game and totaled 14 in the first half, making four of his five three-point attempts. He tallied 15 points, one rebound, one assist, and a steal in the game. Jairus Roberson (DeSoto) also totaled 15 points, making five three pointers, also grabbing two rebounds.
 
A&M-Commerce led by as much as 19 points in the first half and outshot A&M-Kingsville, 55 percent to 29 percent in the first half. The Lions led 44-25 at half time, they shot 9 for 16 from outside-the-arc in the first half.
 
The Lions ended the half on an alley oop by Clashon Gaffney (Clarksville) from Demarcus Demonia (Fort Washington, Md.), who threw the pass from Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) in mid-air to Gaffney.
 
Demonia gave the Lions their largest lead of the game at the 3:06 mark of the second half via a floater that made it 75-52. The Lions outshot the Javelinas, 46 percent to 32 percent in the second half, the Javelinas played much closer in the second half with an 11-0 run to cut to within nine and were outscored 33-31 in the second half.
 
Alphonso Willis (Atlanta, Ga.) had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He tied Tuttle and Demonia with team-leading four assists. Gaffney blocked three shots to go along with 10 points, four rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Demonia totaled five points, six rebounds, and four assists. Tuttle scored five points and grabbed four rebounds to go along with his four assists.
 
Along with Roberson's 15 points off the bench, Carius Key (Irving – MacArthur) added six points and two rebounds. Leo Lara (Santa Rosa) knocked down a three pointer, while Alex Peavy (San Antonio – Smithson Valley), Rodney Brown (Beaumont – Westbrook), and Khaliq Abdul-Mateen (Cy Lakes) had two points each. Brown also recorded three rebounds and two blocks.
 
The Lions scored 13 fast break points, 12 points off turnovers, 30 points in the paint, and 10 points from second chances. They shot 51 percent from the field, 44 percent from the distance, and 65 percent at the charity stripe.


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The Lions close out the weekend in the Field House on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. against Texas A&M International. Both teams received votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) rankings.