West Texas A&M knocked down 13 3-pointers in a 72-65 win over Texas A&M University-Commerce.
The Buffaloes (5-2) Clint McFall came off the bench to hit five 3-pointers and Tyler Cooper added four more to lead West Texas A&M to the victory. Cooper recorded his first double double of the season, scoring 19 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in the winning cause. Also in double figures for WT was Robert Lee with 10, including two three pointers.
A&M-Commerce (0-5) senior Scooby Johnson had his second double double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat. He was joined in double digits by senior Kevin Widemond, who scored 10 points. In the loss, A&M-Commerce out rebounded the Buffaloes by five, 34-29 and forced West Texas into 18 turnovers.
The Lions led for the fifth-straight game at the intermission, 34-32, over the host Buffaloes. In the first half, the Lions got a pair of six-straight point spurts by Johnson and senior Champ Sylvester hit back-to-back 3-pointers.
A&M-Commerce extended its margin to as much as six, 48-42, with 12:46 left in the contest. The Buffaloes came back with eight-straight points on a 3-pointer each by McFall and Cooper, a jumper by Chris Hinz to take a 50-48 lead with 10:19 remaining. The Lions would regain the lead after a mini 4-0 run on free throws by Johnson and Lance Jackson. Again, West Texas A&M would have an answer with three trifectas by McFall that put the Buffaloes in front, 61-54. Down the stretch, A&M-Commerce would only be able to get as close as two on a couple of occasions.
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While shooting a season-high 48.2 percent from the field, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team snapped a five-game losing streak with a 73-53 win over host Eastern New Mexico on Saturday afternoon in Portales, New Mexico.
Four Lions (1-5) scored in double digits, including a game-high 21 from senior Kevin Widemond. The guard from Newark, New Jersey was five-for-six from beyond the 3-point line in the win. Joining Widemond in double figures was Scooby Johnson with 12 and Lance Jackson and Champ Sylvester added 10 apiece.
The Lions led from start-to-finish in the win as they forced 20 ENMU turnovers and held the Greyhounds to 32.1 percent shooting from the field. In addition, the Lions came away with seven blocked shots, including four from junior Rashad Brown. Sylvester had a team-high and game-high nine rebounds and Johnson added eight as the Lions out rebounded Eastern New Mexico, 37-36.
Eastern New Mexico (1-5) had three players to score in double digits. Travis Cooper scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Greyhounds. Jamaal McCoy chipped in 11 and Jeremiah Redman-Trotter added 10 from the bench for ENMU.
With a two point lead, 8-6, the Lions went on an 11-1 run, culminated by back-to-back 3-pointers by Widemond and Leonard Bishop Jr.
A&M-Commerce would extend the lead to as much as 14 on a pair of occasions in the first half. For the fifth-consecutive game, A&M-Commerce entered the intermission with lead as the Lions held a 14-point lead, 31-17.
In the first 20 minutes, an aggressive A&M-Commerce defense held the Greyhounds to 20 percent shooting, 6-for-30 from the field and forced nine ENMU turnovers. The Lions blistered the nets for 53.8 percent shooting and a five-rebound advantage, 23-18.
The Lions will host Tarleton State in its next game today with tip off scheduled for 8 p.m. at the A&M-Commerce Field House.