COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team concludes its trip to Colorado on Monday night at the US Air Force Academy against the Falcons at 8 p.m. mountain standard time.
 
WHO: A&M-Commerce at Air Force
WHERE: USAFA, Colo. | Clune Arena
WHEN: Monday, November 14 | 8 p.m. MST (7 p.m. CST)
RECORDS: The Lions are 0-2 on the season, while the Falcons are 1-1.
RANKINGS: Neither team is ranked in either national poll. Air Force is 232 in the KenPom rankings, which ranks every team in NCAA Division I and A&M-Commerce is 306.
 
LIVE AUDIO: Lion Sports Network – KETR 88.9 FM, Commerce (http://www.ketr.org)
LIVE VIDEO: https://themw.com/watch/?id=6311049604112
LIVE STATS: https://statb.us/v/tame/424110
GAME NOTES: TAMUC | USAFA
 
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
• The Lions have played two close games to start the season, but failed to secure the win in both games.
• In Friday's loss at Northern Colorado, the Lions had two chances to tie the game in the final minute, but could not get the shot in the net.
• Monday's game at SMU was tied with 13 minutes left in the second half before the Mustangs pulled away.
 
THE COMEBACK CATS
• A&M-Commerce fell behind 15-0 to start Friday's game and trailed by as much as 20 in the first half.
• The Lions fought all the way back to make it a one-point game in the final minute and had a chance to take the lead against Northern Colorado.
 
UNCHARTERED TERRITORY
• A&M-Commerce is in its first Division I season and the Southland Conference. 
• The Lions are coming off four NCAA Tournament appearances in their last six chances to close out the Division II era.
• This is the first time A&M-Commerce has switched classifications since moving up from NAIA to NCAA Division II in 1980s.
 
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE FALCONS
• The Lions and the Falcons are meeting for the first time on Monday night.  
 
LIONS APPEAR IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
• The Lions are ranked No. 306 in the KenPom rankings going into the matchup against Air Force, which is third best in the Southland.
 
LIONS PICKED SEVENTH IN THE SLC
• A&M-Commerce was picked to finish seventh in the Southland Conference, as voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
• The Lions tallied 56 points in the rankings, a point better than Houston Christian.
 
RE-TOOLED ROSTER
• The Lions return just one starter from a year ago in Demarcus Demonia.
• This season's roster features six new transfers and four freshmen.
• Of the six transfers, three come from other Division I schools and three come from the Junior College level.
• The Lion freshmen come to Commerce from all over the country including Texas, Minnesota, and New Jersey.
 
YOUNG AND HAPPY
• Based on our research, A&M-Commerce's coaching staff is the youngest in NCAA Division I this season with a combined age of 128 among head coach Jaret von Rosenberg and assistant coaches Coleman Furst, Yolonzo Moore, and Ted Rawlings.
 
YOUNGEST STAFFS IN THE COUNTRY

Team	Combined Age
A&M-Commerce	128
UT Martin	135
Portland	139

 
TIME ZONES ARE AMAZING
• A&M-Commerce is slated to play in four time zones this season and have at least one game in each of the four time zones in the month of November.
• The Lions are playing in the Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Hawaii Time Zones in 2022-23.
 
ALOHA LIONS
• Last month, the Lions added a game to its schedule, making a trip to the Islands to face Hawaii on November 30.
 
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST BLOCKERS
• A&M-Commerce blocked 5.7 shots per game last season, which was second among all Division II teams.
• The Lions blocked 11 shots in the win over Harding (December 6) and nine against Oklahoma Christian (December 11).
 
LIONS LOVE BUZZER-BEATERS
• Last season, the Lions made three buzzer-beaters from near half court.
• Augustine Ene drilled a jumper to beat the buzzer and tie the game at 28 against Seattle Pacific on December 13.  
• Jairus Roberson beat the first-half buzzer against Ouachita Baptist from about 40 feet away on November 26.
• Alphonso Willis also made his buzzer-beater from about 40-feet away. His shot gave the Lions the win at UTSA on November 15.
 
A&M-Commerce officially joins NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference
• After 90 successful years as charter members of the Lone Star Conference, the Lions begin a historic transition to NCAA Division I and the Southland Conference. This is the first time the Lions are changing conferences since 1931.
• The Lions are eligible to win the Soutland Conference, though they are not eligible for the NCAA Tournament during the four-year transition period.
• Winners  of the NAIA National Championship in 1954-55.
• Founded in 1889, 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 MEMBERS IN 2022-23

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