LIONS TAKE WIN, THEN LOSS

A 15-6 run midway through the first half sparked the host Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball to its third-straight win in a 65-49 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.A&M-Commerce (12-8, 3-2 LSC North) senior DeUndrae Spraggins scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Lions in the win. For the East St. Louis native, it marks the seventh game in a row that he has been the top scorer for A&M-Commerce. Also, in the win, he was 9-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point line. Junior Ronnie Morgan had 13 points and a team-high six rebounds and senior Cardell Hunter had six assists to go along with eight points.Southeastern Oklahoma State (3-17, 0-5 LSC North) played with a heavy heart as the father-in-law of head coach Tony Robinson passed away on Friday night. The Savage Storm, who lost their eighth-straight game, got a double double from Carlin Whitten, who scored 15 points and 11 rebounds in the defeat. Joining Whitten in double digits was Mychal Horn with 14.The Lions saw its 15-point halftime lead cut to nine, 39-30, as SOSU scored the first six points of the second half with 16:21 to go. Again, A&M-Commerce had an answer with a decisive 20-8 run en route to the win.A&M-Commerce returns to action on Wednesday against Southwestern Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs will come to Commerce with a 13-7 overall record and 4-1 in the Lone Star Conference North Division.Unfortunatly the Lion’s good fortune did not carry over to the women’s basketball team.Southeastern Oklahoma State drained 11 3-pointers and shot 57.6 percent from the field to steal a 98-85 victory from Texas A&M University-Commerce in Lone Star Conference North Division play on Saturday afternoon at the A&M-Commerce Field House.Southeastern Oklahoma improves to 13-6 overall and 4-2 in division action, while A&M-Commerce slips to 12-7 and 4-2. Four of SOSU’s first five field goals were 3’s, as Ashley Tucker sank two and Destiny Brown and Ashley Hobbs each hit one apiece in a 16-6 burst to start the contest. The Lions answered with a 6-1 run to close the gap to five with the help of four points from Nola Taylor.A&M-Commerce cut the deficit to 26-23 on a jumper from Ashley Murphy at the 10:23 mark, but six straight points from Southeastern extended the lead back to nine.Tucker paced SOSU with 15 points in the first on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc to help the Savage Storm take a 52-39 lead into the break. Southeastern connected on 6-of-9 3’s in the opening half and shot 66.7 percent from beyond the arc.The Savage Storm quickly extended the lead to 17 to start the second, and remained ahead by double digits until Britney Jordan dropped in a 3 with 11:20 remaining. After SOSU pulled back in front by 11, two free throws by Taylor and another triple from Jordan cut the score to 70-64 with 9:46 left.Southeastern answered with nine consecutive points and capped the run with a Nikki Nester 3 on a behind-the-back assist from Tucker to take its lead back to 15 points.The Lions pulled to within nine on two more occasions, but that was as close as they would get for the remainder of the contest.Tucker finished with 26 points and Brown collected a double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Savage Storm. Jasmine Hughey chipped in 11 and Kacey Russell added 10 as SOSU snapped the Lions’ four-game winning streak.Jordan, who has now totaled 30 or more points in 10 games this season, scored 35 and Taylor recorded 15 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season to pace A&M-Commerce. Desiree Waller poured in 15 points and Genevieve Campbell had 10.Next up for the Lions is Southwestern Oklahoma State on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the A&M-Commerce Field House. The Lions will look to improve their record to 13-7.