COMMERCE – Twelve three-pointers on Saturday afternoon at the Hunt Regional Healthcare Court in the Field House helped the East Texas A&M University men's basketball team pick up a 72-50 win over the Northwestern State Demons and collect the first Southland Conference win of the season.
 
The Lions avoided the first 0-11 start to conference play in program history with the win over the Demons and improve to 3-19 overall and 1-10 in Southland play. The Demons fall to 9-12 overall, 6-5 against SLC opponents, and have now lost three of the last four against the Lions.
 
Neither side was able to pull ahead through the first 10 minutes of the game, until the Demons took a 18-13 lead at the 9:20 mark of the first half. The Lions then responded by tying the game at 21 at the 3:37 mark and led 27-23 at the half, holding the Demons to just seven points in the final 10 minutes of the half.
 
The Lions shot 40 percent from the field in the first half with Khaliq Abdul-Mateen (Cy-Lakes) scoring six points on a pair of three-pointers off the bench and Josh Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.) scoring five, also off the bench. The Demons shot 29.6 percent from the field and 2 for 9 from outside.
 
To start the second half, the Lions hit four of their first six three-pointers and moved ahead 41-31 with 15:03 to play in the game, which was the largest lead for either team up to that point. Leading 45-35, the Lions took command of the game with an 11-2 run and had a lead as big 25 in the game.
 
The Lion bench scored 42 points, outscoring the Demon bench, 41-32. Scooter Williams Jr. (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had team-best 16 points, followed by 12 from Abdul-Mateen. KC Ugwuakazi (Boston, Mass.) added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Evan Phelps (Duncanville) had six assists to lead the team.
 
For the Demons, JT Warren recorded 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Jerald Colonel had 13 rebounds. The Demons outrebounded the Lions, 41-29, in the game.
 
The Lions shot 48.1 percent from the field, 12 for 27 from deep, and a perfect 8 for 8 at the line. Northwestern State finished the game shooting 30.5 percent, 3 for 16 from the outside, and 11 for 15 at the line.
 

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The Lions play host to A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday night at 1 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at LionAthletics.com/Tickets.