Sixth-ranked Tarleton men edge Lions, 73-69

The men from Texas A&M University-Commerce led for much of the first half during Wednesday's game against rival Tarleton State, but once the Texans took a slim lead just before intermission, the Lions were forced to play catch up the rest of the night and eventually fell to the 6^th-ranked visitors, 73-69, at The Field House.

The Lions (6-10, 1-7 LSC) certainly didn't look like a team near the bottom of the conference standings, pushing the Texans (16-1, 8-0 LSC) to the limit before a last-minute rally fell short.

Fabian Wilson scored a career-best 27 points to lead the Texans, who used a 45-31 rebounding advantage to their favor, creating second chances on several occasions. Wes Dipprey added 12 points and nine rebounds, and Shedrick Haynes chipped in 11 points for the Texans, who have now won 13 consecutive games dating back to Nov. 19.

Preston Whitley came off the bench and paced the Lions with 19 points, LaBree Sledge and Desmond King each tossed in 13 points and Brad Hambrick added 10 after receiving special recognition for reaching a pair of milestones in his A&M-Commerce career.

Hambrick recently reached the 1,000-point plateau and became the first player in program history to make 200 three-point shots. The senior connected on a triple in the opening minute to give the Lions their first points of the night, and finished 2-of-7 from long range.

An entertaining first half three ties and eight lead changes, and the Lions led by as many as seven points once Sledge hit a three-pointer to make it 23-16 with less than eight minutes to go in the half.

The Texans stormed back to tie the game at 24 apiece, and the two teams traded buckets over the last three minutes. Wilson's jumper with 40 seconds left gave Tarleton a 30-29 lead at the break.

Sledge scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half, while Wilson (11) and Dipprey (10) each reached double-figures in the first 20 minutes. King, averaging just over 16 points per game, was held scoreless in the first half.

The Texans surged to a double-digit lead early in the second half, turning a 1-point advantage into a 43-33 lead with 14 minutes to play.  Tarleton pushed the lead to 14 with 11:33 remaining and stayed comfortably in front until the final minute.

The Lions trailed by 10 with just 29 seconds to play until King knocked in a triple and Esteban Arriola connected on three free throws to make it 71-67.

After Wilson made a pair from the line, Hambrick scored the final points to make it 73-69, and the Lions ran out of time.

After shooting just 34.3% from the floor in the first half, the Texans connected at a rate of 66.7% in the second. The Lions shot 39% for the night. The two teams will meet again Saturday in Stephenville to complete the home-and-home series. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Tarleton State 89, A&M-Commerce 61 (women)

Despite another double-double from sophomore Breanna Harris, the A&M-Commerce women were outgunned by Tarleton State at The Field House on Wednesday, dropping another LSC contest, 89-61.

Tarleton (12-5, 9-0 LSC) ran its win streak to nine games while the Lions (1-14, 0-9 LSC) lost for the 11^th straight outing. The teams will play again Saturday in Stephenville at 5 p.m.

The TexAnns used their deadly trio of Rockwall natives to gun down the Lions, who managed just 29% shooting in the first half, which ended with A&M-Commerce in a 42-25 hole.

Rockwall grads Shelby and Peyton Adamson led Tarleton with 21 and 18 points, respectively, while Rockwall-Heath alum Shanae Lowrance tossed in 15 more in an all-around dominant effort by the visitors.

Harris notched her seventh double-double of the year, scoring a career-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds, but got little help from her teammates. No other Lion reached double figures. China Pippin scored nine, and Bianca Stevenson added eight, but scored just two points in the second half.

The TexAnns started the game with a 9-0 run and ended the contest the same way. The LSC's top women's team shot the lights out, finishing 8-of-14 from long range, including a perfect 4-of-4 from Peyton, the younger Adamson sister. Tarleton also made 25-of-31 free throws and finished at 51.9% from the floor.

Danielle Dixon, the Lions' leading scorer this season, made just 2-of-11 shots and finished with five points. The Lions improved in the second half, shooting 48.1 % to finish at 37.9% for the evening.

Tarleton used the early run to its advantage, pushing the lead into double digits just six minutes into the game and putting it virtually out of reach by halftime. The lead reached 20 points with 13 minutes to play and led by 30 before the Lions closed the game with a bucket in the final minute.