COMMERCE – Behind program-record 19 steals on Wednesday night, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team picked up a 100-48 win over Dallas Christian in the Field House.
 
The Lions picked up their fourth win of the season to move to 4-5 on the season, while the Crusaders fall to 1-8 on the season, having played two other Southland Conference opponents so far.
 
The Crusaders won the opening tip and hit a three pointer on their first possession, but the Lions kept them scoreless for the next 3 minutes, while going on a 10-0 run to jump up front early.
 
During a stretch in which the Lions did not have a made field goal for three minutes and 56 seconds, the Crusaders made a ferocious comeback. Dallas Christian cut it to a 15-14 lead for the Lions, on a 8-0 scoring run.
 
A quick 9-0 run for the Lions pulled them back up front 29-18, as Dallas Christian had a run in which it was 1 for 8 from the field. The Lions ended the first half on a buzzer beater by Alonzo Dodd (St. Paul, Minn.) and scored the 17 of the first 19 points of the second half to take a 65-32 lead.
 
In the second half, the Crusaders were outscored 52-18, as A&M-Commerce shot 54.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from the field. The Lions were 18 for 19 at the line.
 
A&M-Commerce totaled 25 assists, 19 steals, and six blocks in the game. The 19 steals are a new program-record, while 25 assists are tied for seventh. The Lions scored 37 points off their 23 forced turnovers.
 
Jerome Brewer Jr. (Camden, N.J.) was the Lions' leading scorer with 18 points, while Kalen Williams (Augusta, Ga.) scored 17 and dished out team-high five assists, Zondrick Garrett (Oxford, Ala.) tallied 10 points, four rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
 
Khaliq Abdul-Mateen (Cy-Lakes) posted eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, as well as five steals, which is tied for third most in program history. Dodd finished the game with five points, four assists, two steals, and two rebounds.
 
Every player off the Lion bench scored at least two points. Evan Phelps (Duncanville) had 11 points, three rebounds, and two steals, while Kwo Agwa (Calgary, Canada) had 10 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, KC Ugwuakazi (Boston, Mass.) picked up seven points and seven rebounds.
 
Both Ant Abraham (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and Brandon Taylor (Coppell) totaled five points each, while James "Pop" Weathers (Baton Rouge, La.) and Prince Davies (Atlanta, Ga.) recorded two points each.
 
For the Crusaders, Ny'gel Boozer scored 11 points off the bench.


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The Lions make the short trip on Sunday to Dallas at 2 p.m. to face SMU at Moody Coliseum. Tickets for the game can be purchased at LionAthletics.com/Tickets.