Commerce —
The Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team (6-8, 1-5) battled conference opponent Abilene Christian (7-8, 1-6) in the Field House Wednesday night into overtime, ultimately falling 92-79.
The game began with both teams evenly matched. Senior forward Desmond King established himself early, recording 20 points and five rebounds in the first half. Wildcat junior point guard Antonio Bell hit a quick 8 points, but received multiple warnings from the officials for his repeated taunts of A&M-Commerce fans. Junior center Andrew Davis also had an early impact for the Lions, scoring 5 of their first 7 points while adding three rebounds.
Both teams traded blows until the end of the first half, when the Wildcats pulled away thanks to a barrage of treys from forward Armani Williams and nine points off of Lions' turnovers. Senior guard Brad Hambrick, who had played exceptionally well in recent games, was held scoreless in the first half.
Out of the half, junior point guard Esteban Arriola, who played most of the game because starting point guard LaBree Sledge was in early foul trouble and suffered an apparent elbow injury in the second half, kept ACU from blowing open their lead with two three pointers. The Wildcats continued to capatilize on Lion turnovers, and Williams gave ACU a 62-51 lead with a three pointer. An 8-0 run by the Lions brought them back into the game, thanks to smart passes by Arriola and aggressive play from King, who had had a quiet first part of the second half.
Another three by bell gave the Wildcats another 6 point lead, and junior center Eric Milam took a charge on the defensive end to keep the momentum in ACU's favor.
A Preston Whitley three pointer brought the Lions back within 4, 67-63. Despite a trey from Kendall Durant with the shot clock expiring, A&M-Commerce continued to hang around thanks to key free throws by King. A tie-up by Sledge resulted in an A&M-Commerce ball, and Whitley made a hook shot with 38.5 seconds left to cut the lead to 2. After a missed free throw by center Eric Kibi, the Lions had the ball with 30 seconds left, down by two points. King was fouled on the following play, converting both the tie the game. ACU threw the ball away with as the game clock ran out, forcing an overtime.
The Wildcats came out firing in extra time, with Durant hitting a three pointer to put the Wildcats up by five. Despite great effort from King, the Lions couldn't slow down the Wildcat offense and a layup by Kibi gave the Wildcats a 7 point lead. A&M-Commerce was unable to mount any successful comeback, and were outscored 19 to 6 in overtime. Durant, unguarded, added a bucket with time expiring instead of waiting for the clock to run out.
King set a new career high with a game-leading 34 points, adding nine rebounds. Arriola contributed 12 points and 6 assists, and Devondrick Walker had 11 points and five rebounds. Hambrick was scoreless in the game.
Bell led the Wildcats with 21 points, and Kibi added 13 points and 9 rebounds. The Lions will travel to San Angelo on Saturday to take on Angelo State.
A&M: Desmond King 34; Esteban Arriola 12; Devondrick Walker 11; Preston Whitley 9; Andrew Davis 7; LaBree Sledge 3; Justin Fairman 3.
ACU: Antonio Bell 21; Kendall Durant 14; Eric Kibi 13; Armani Williams 13; Marc Little 11; Eric Milam 4; Dosh Simms 3; Da-Juan Cooper 1.
A&M-Commerce women 65 vs. ACU women 77
The A&M-Commerce women's basketball team (1-12, 0-6) lost their ninth game in a row, falling against Abilene Christian University at home Wednesday night despite a strong second half where they outscored the Wildcats 39 to 37. A&M-Commerce was a miserable 1 of 17 from beyond the arc, and both teams sot poorly from the field, with the Wildcats' 39.6 percent only slightly better than the Lions 37.8 percent.
The Wildcats were successful at getting to the line, earning 41 shots and converting on 82.9 percent of them. Other than the massive free throw differential, the Lions managed to keep close to the Wildcats in all other major statistical categories.
The Lions were led on offense by Bianca Stevenson, who recorded 17 points and 9 rebounds. Danielle Dixon added 14 points, and Ashlee Johnson had 11 points and five rebounds. Kelsey Smith paced the Wildcats with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Paige Parliament contributed 12.
The Lions will travel to San Angelo on Saturday for their next game against Angelo State.
A&M: Bianca Stevenson 17; Danielle Dixon 14; Ashlee Johnson 11; Breanna Harris 9; La'Tisha Hearn 5; Devin Oliver 5; Michelle Sutton 2; Kourtney Briscoe 2.
ACU: Kelsey Smith 20; Paige Parliament 12; Cecilee Perez 10; Hillari Adam 8; Reneta Marquez 7; Mack Lankford 7; Sarah Reno 5; Shelby Shipley 4; Savannah Smith 4.
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