COMMERCE – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team is headed east to Atlanta this weekend to play three games at the Capitol Classic, hosted by Georgia State.
LIONS' WEEKEND SCHEDULE
TAMUC GAME NOTES
A HISTORIC FIRST WIN
• A&M-Commerce collected its first win in NCAA Division I on Monday night, prevailing in overtime over Air Force.
• The Lions trailed by as much six points in overtime, but sealed the win via a dunk by
Demarcus Demonia.
• The Lions moved up nine spots in the KenPom rankings following the win.
THEY WERE CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
• The Lions played two close games to start the season, but failed to secure the win in both games.
• In the 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.
• Season-opening 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 the game against Northern Colorado 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 BULLDOGS
• A&M-Commerce and UNC Asheville have met once prior to this seoson and it came in 1974.
• A&M-Commerce collected a 101-78 win in Asheville on December 6, 1974.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE PANTHERS
• This is the first meeting between A&M-Commerce and Georgia State.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE COLONELS
• A&M-Commerce and Eastern Kentucky meet for the first time on Sunday.
LIONS APPEAR IN NATIONAL RANKINGS
• The Lions are ranked No. 297 in the KenPom rankings going into the Capitol Classic, 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.
• There are eight other teams in Division I that are playing in four time zones as well.
| School |
Time Zones |
| Boise State |
ET, CT, MT, PT |
| Creighton |
ET, CT, PT, Hawaii |
| CSU Bakersfield |
ET, MT, PT, Hawaii |
| Dayton |
Atlantic (Bahamas), ET, CT, PT |
| Rice |
ET, CT, MT, PT |
| A&M-Commerce |
ET, CT, MT, Hawaii |
| Texas State |
ET, CT, PT, Hawaii |
| Southern Utah |
CT, MT, PT, Hawaii |
| Stanford |
ET, CT, MT, PT |
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 |
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