SAN ANGELO – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team saw a two-point halftime deficit disappear against a hot-shooting Angelo State University team, as the Lions fell 82-66 in Stephens Arena on Thursday night.
The Lions fall to 17-6 overall and 9-5 in the Lone Star Conference, while the Rams are now 17-6 overall and 8-5 in LSC.
A&M-Commerce now heads to Texas A&M-Kingsville to take on the Javelinas at 2 p.m. Saturday.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the field, with a 25 percent (5-of-20) three-pointer rate. ASU shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) from the floor, with a 13-of-27 (48.1 percent) three-pointer percentage.
- Reggie Reid led the Lions with 15 points, five rebounds, and four assists.
- Daquane Willford scored 11 points off the bench for the Lions' other double digit scorer.
- The Lions held a 34-32 rebounding advantage, but turned the ball over 18 times.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A&M-Commerce led for the majority of the first half after Reid and Dorian Armstrong score two quick buckets to open the Lion scoring. From a 6-all tie with 17 minutes left in the half, the Lions went on an 11-2 surge, with consecutive three-pointers from Trey Conrod and Willford putting the Lions up 17-8 with 13:35 left in the half.
Angelo State hit three-pointers for its next three made shots to quickly narrow the deficit, and the Rams had tied it back up at 24-all with 7:36 left in the half. An Armstrong triple and a Reid layup put the Lions back up 29-24 with just under seven minutes left. The Lions would score only five more points in the half, and Angelo State drained a long-distance three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Rams a 36-34 halftime edge.
The Lions made 13-of-26 shots in the half for a 50 percent shooting rate, but the Rams made seven three-pointers to A&M-Commerce's three.
Joseph Williams-Powell made two straightaway three-pointers for the Lions in the opening minutes of the half, but the Rams came out of the chute on a hot streak and pushed their lead to eight points at 48-40 just under four minutes into the half.
The margin was still at eight points at 58-50 with 10 minutes remaining, but Angelo State went on a 10-point run in a two-minute span. Nine of those points came from the long ball, as Kiair Crouch made a trio of three-pointers. Those long baskets pushed ASU up to a 68-50 lead with 8:25 to go.
ASU would lead by as many as 20 points down the stretch, the Lions would go on short spurts to narrow the deficit to 15 points before the final 16-point margin.