LUBBOCK - The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team saw its season come to an end in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II South Central Region tournament with an 80-63 loss to top-seeded Lubbock Christian University on Saturday evening.

The Lions' season ends with a record of 17-9 after making their ninth appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament.

Demarcus Demonia (Fort Washington, Md.) was the only Lion in double digit scoring, netting 20 points to go with five rebounds, which tied for the team lead. Jairus Roberson (DeSoto) made three three-pointers for nine points.

JJ Romer Rosario (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.) and Augustine Ene (Carrollton - Creekview) each scored eight off the bench. Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) scored six points, passed out six assists, and had five rebounds.

LCU shot 57.1 percent (28-of-49) for the game, including 65 percent in the second half. A&M-Commerce was limited to 41.1 percent (23-of-56), with 12 made three-pointers.


POSTGAME INTERVIEW

The first seven-plus minutes of the game were back-and-forth. Clashon Gaffney (Clarksville) scored a floater, Demonia scored five, Ene canned a triple, and a layup by Alphonso Willis (Atlanta, Ga.) had the Lions within two points at 14-12 with 12:44 left in the opening stanza.

Unfortunately for the Lions, the Chaparrals scored the next 16 points in a row over a 5:30 span. A Tuttle triple snapped the skid, but the Lions were down 30-15 at that point. LCU made four more three-pointers in the half, but the Lions closed the half on a 7-3 run. The Chaps led 42-24 at the break.

The Lions roared out of the break, challenging their hosts from the get-go. A 13-5 TAMUC run included 11 straight points, and an Ene three-pointer with 15:24 to play cut the deficit to 10 points at 47-37.

A 7-0 surge by the blue and gold on layups by Willis and Rodney Brown (Beaumont - West Brook) and a Romer Rosario triple cut the LCU lead to seven points at 53-46 with 12:14 to play.

From there, LCU turned on the scoring prowess, putting the game out of reach with separate runs of six and seven straight points. The Lions made only one field goal inside the three-point arc in the final eight minutes, and missed nine of 10 shots in that stretch.

The loss marks the end of Lion careers for graduating seniors Brown, Ene, Roberson, and Willis. The Lions head into a new era of Lion basketball in 2021-22, playing in the NCAA Division I Southland Conference.