DENTON – The fourth-seeded Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team used a second half surge to pull away from fifth-seeded Angelo State University for a 76-63 win in the Lone Star Conference Championship quarterfinals at Texas Woman's University's Kitty Magee Arena on Friday evening.
The Lions move to 21-7 on the season and advance to the LSC Championship semifinals at 8:30 p.m. Saturday against either West Texas A&M or Eastern New Mexico. Angelo State is now 18-11 on the year.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Four Lions scored in double figures, led by 20 points from Reggie Reid, who also had eight rebounds and passed out four assists.
- Aaron Horne scored 14 points and had four rebounds. He had a game-high three made three-pointers.
- Willie Rooks scored 13 points and had five rebounds.
- Trey Conrod scored 12 points and snagged eight rebounds.
- The Lions shot 47.4 percent (27-of-57) from the field, including a 54.5 percent (12-of-22) clip in the second half.
- The Lions held a 43-33 rebounding edge, including 11 offensive rebounds to the Rams' five.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The early going went back and forth as the teams felt each other out. Angelo State led 6-2 early before the first big Lion surge. Rooks scored six straight Lion points and four different players contributed in a 12-2 run which gave A&M-Commerce a 14-8 lead with 14 minutes left in the first half.
Reid took over the scoring efforts for the Lions from there. The LSC Newcomer of the Year scored the Lions' next 11 points, and his three-point play with just under 11 minutes to play put the Lion lead in double digits at 25-14. The Lions were only able to score two field goals in the final 6:54 of the half, but a strong defensive effort allowed A&M-Commerce to hold on to a 37-31 lead at the break.
The Lions made 15-of-35 (42.9 percent) of their field goal attempts in the first and turned eight offensive rebounds into 15 second chance points.
Angelo State cut the lead to four points out the locker room with a pair of free throws, but the Lions responded with an eight-point run to get back in front by double figures. Conrod's tip-in, a fast break three-pointer by Horne, and another Conrod layup put A&M-Commerce up 45-33 with 15:53 to play.
The Rams cut the lead back down to five points with an 8-0 run, holding the Lions scoreless for nearly three minutes before an impressive drive to the bucket and layup by Joseph Williams-Powell ended the drought.
Five straight Angelo State points cut the Lion lead down to one possession at 50-48 with 10:16 to play, but A&M-Commerce scored key points to keep the Rams from tying the game. The lead shrank to one point at 53-52 before an eight-point Lion surge. A corner three from Horne made it a 60-52 game with 6:32 to play.
A&M-Commerce did not allow a Ram field goal for more than three minutes during a 10-1 run. Armstrong's driving layup with five minutes to play put the Lion advantage back in double digits at 63-53.
The Rams only made three shots in the final five minutes, as the Lions never allowed the lead to shrink below 11 again. Free throws down the stretch allowed the Lions to lead by as many as 15 points in the final minute.