COMMERCE – Returning home to play its second home game of the season, the East Texas A&M University men's basketball team suffered a 77-57 loss to the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Saturday afternoon on the Hunt Regional Healthcare Court in the Field House.
 
The Lions fall to 1-7 on the season, losing their first game at home and have lost four in a row overall. The Mastodons are now 5-3 on the season.
 
This was the third straight season that the two teams faced off against each other, though Saturday's meeting was the first in Commerce. Purdue Fort Wayne won all three meetings.  
 
The Lions scored the first two points of the game, but found themselves trailing 9-3 at the 14:20 mark of the first half. The Lions scored the next four and were able to make it a one-point game at the 11:18 mark on a three-pointer by Evan Phelps (Duncanville), but there were no ties or lead changes from that point of the game.
 
The Mastodons led by as much as 13 in the first half and had a lead as big as 22 in the second half. Purdue Fort Wayne shot 51 percent from the field in the game, including 56 percent in the second half. The Lions shot 40 percent from the field and went 13 for 36 from outside-the-arc.
 
For the Lions, Scooter Williams Jr. (Chattanooga, Tenn.) scored 19 to lead the team, going 4 for 7 from deep and 7 for 11 from the field. He also had six rebounds and three assists, while Khaliq Abdul-Mateen (Cy-Lakes) added 15, making five three-pointers, and picked up five rebounds, three assists, and a steal.
 
Josh Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.) totaled team-best nine rebounds and scored seven as well, while Jalen Jackson led the Mastodons with 16, being one of four players to score in double digits for Purdue Fort Wayne.
 
Both teams had 32 rebounds in the game, the Lions committed 20 turnovers, while the Mastodons committed just six.

POST GAME INTERVIEW
 
UP NEXT
The Lions play the first pair of Southland Conference games on the road next week at Houston Christian on Thursday at 7 p.m. and at UIW next Saturday.