LAKE CHARLES, La. – Trailing by three with just over three minutes left in Sunday night's first round of the Southland Conference Tournament, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team closed out the game on an 8-0 run to win 69-64 win over the Northwestern State Demons.
 
The Lions won their first postseason game since 2019-20, have won their last three overall, and took back-to-back wins over the Demons to advance to the quarterfinal round of the SLC Tournament. A&M-Commerce faces No. 3 seed Nicholls at 7:30 p.m. on Monday night in the quarterfinals, the winner plays No. 2 seed A&M-Corpus Christi in the semfinals.
 
After going 9 for 26 (34.6 percent) from the field and not making a shot from deep in the first half, the Lions overcame a 7-point halftime deficit, shooting 61 percent from the field and 3 for 7 from deep in the second half. The Lions are 13-19 on the season, the Demons end their season with a record of 9-23.

POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE
 
The Lions fell behind 5-2, but then went on a 9-0 run, shooting 4 for 4 during the stretch and held the Demons scoreless for three minutes and 19 seconds.
 
A scoring drought of 2:23 followed for the Lions, going 0 for 4 during the drought as the Demons shot 4 for 5 and took a 16-11 lead, on a 9-0 run, and it was the biggest lead for either team through the first 10:18 of the game. Tommie Lewis (Vero Beach, Fla.) ended the Demon scoring with a jumper. Northwestern State scored 12 straight during the stretch, with A&M-Commerce shooting 0 for 6.
 
Following the jumper from Lewis, Kalen Williams (Augusta, Ga.) added a layup and Lewis knocked down a pair of free throws to bring the Lions within 19-17 at the 7:11 mark.
 
Williams scored 11 in the first half for the Lions, while Lewis added eight, totaling 19 of the team's 26 points in the first half. Chase Forte scored 13 for the Demons, who shot 14 for 33 from the field in the first half.
 
After just five points in the entire first half, Kwo Agwa (Calgary, Canada) scored five in the first three minutes of the second half, pulling the Lions within 35-33. The Lions after coming to within 37-35, went on a scoring drought of 2:19, while the Demons scored four to re-take a six-point lead.
 
KC Ugwuakazi (Boston, Mass.) ended the scoring run with a pair of free throws. The Lions hit four shots in a row, that brough them within two and had a chance to tie the game for the first time since the first half, with a pair of free throws, but missed them both.
 
Northwestern State hit a layup on the other end to re-take a four-point lead. The run of consecutive made field goals continued for the Lions and they once again had a chance to tie the game with two free throws, but missed them both again. A&M-Commerce shot 20 for 32 from the line in the game.
 
Ugwuakazi hit a layup at the 7:10 mark, during a 2:06 scoring drought for the Demons, tying the game at 53. It was the first tie since 11-11 at the 12:23 mark of the first half. The Demons hit a pair of free throws on the other end to hang on to the lead.
 
A three-pointer from Khaliq Abdul-Mateen (Cy-Fair) gave the Lions a 56-55 lead at the 5:40 mark of the second half, which was the first time the Lions had a lead since 11-9 at the 12:58 mark of the first half.
 
The Demons hit a jumper to re-take the lead and Agwa went 1 for 2 at the line on the other end to tie the game at 57 with 4:43 left in the game. Neither side had a lead bigger than one-possession until two free throws from Alonzo Dodd (St. Paul, Minn.) put the Lions up 69-64 with 14 seconds left in the game.
 
The Lions closed out the game on an 8-0 run over the final 3:07.
 
Williams scored 19 for the Lions on 8 for 15 shooting, along with four rebounds and two steals. Agwa added 16 points, going 6 for 8 from the field, and two rebounds and a block, while Lewis totaled 15 points, five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
 
For the Demons, Justin Wilson scored 20, Forte added 17, and Cliff Davis scored 14.