Lone Star Conference 2015 Men's Basketball Tournament
Texas A&M University-Commerce (21-7, 9-5) vs. West Texas A&M University (17-11, 7-7)
Allen Events Center, Allen, Texas
8:30 p.m., Thu., March 5
Audio Transcript
Mark Haslett: This year, the Lone Star Conference has lived up to expectations that the circuit would be one of the toughest in men’s NCAA Division II basketball. Going into the season, conventional wisdom designated four teams as contenders for a national tournament berth – Tarleton State, Angelo State, Midwestern State and A&M-Commerce. True to forecasts, those four teams finished at the top of the LSC standings this year. But a fifth school must be counted among the conference elite, and that’s West Texas A&M. The Buffaloes stumbled last season, but a young roster full of sharpshooters have made WT a tough draw in the tournament, according to A&M-Commerce head coach Sam Walker.
Sam Walker: They’re dangerous for us because they have four guards on the floor and we have four forwards on the floor. We have a guard and four forwards and they have four guards and a forward, so it’s two styles that contrast each other so much. We’re going to try to get it as close to the rim as possible and shoot it and try to shoot 30-40 free throws. They’re going to shoot 30-40 threes and go get it. They spread you out and make you guard all over the floor, so it’s two contrasting styles. Two games played against them that came down to the last possession – a shot goes up and if it goes in, one team wins, and if it doesn’t – then the outcome is being decided on every possession of the game, so it should be another great one.
Haslett: When they’re setting up and taking those three-point shots, four or five feet beyond the arc, I mean – how do you defend that without just getting yourself so spread out that you just –
Walker: And they just drive to the bucket, and that’s the thing. You’ve got to be real heavy on the ball, which we’ve got to do a better job of. You got to get up and really guard and you’ve got to have a wall behind you. Everybody’s ready to help on the penetration if that man does get beat. And what happens when you have four guards, everybody’s so concerned about their shooter that they’re all building out on their man, and so it takes a lot of patience defensively. You’ve got to be very alert and you’ve got to be playing hard, but you’ve got to give a lot of help – have a real tight defense and build out on shooters. If everybody just goes and guards their man, then they’re going to have a field day on us.
Haslett: The Lions won both regular-season games against the Buffaloes, but just barely. In Canyon, WT almost sent A&M-Commerce home with a loss, but a late rally from the Lions resulted in a one-point victory for the visitors. The last game between the two was at The Field House on February 21st, and again, A&M-Commerce had to come from behind. Trailing by double digits in the second half, the Lions surged late in the contest to post a 73-69 victory. Walker says that tonight, his team will need to display the same poise and commitment to the playbook that helped them earn that last victory in Commerce.
Walker: They got hot and made some shots and we stayed the course throughout the game and defensively, got a little bit more help and made those shots a little bit more difficult by sticking to our game plan. And that’s what we talked about in the time outs. Let’s just keep doing it, every possession, until this buzzer sounds and let’s see what the outcome is. And of course our little point guard made two big three-point shots that really got us over the hump when we weren’t executing well offensively. We’re going to have to move the ball a lot better, we’re going to have to play catch with it deeper into the possession and make them work a little bit harder defensively. I think we got real isolated in trying to give the ball to just one person and it played into their hands defensively.
Haslett: The winner of tonight’s game will advance to play Tarleton State in a second-round matchup tomorrow night. Tarleton roared into this year’s tournament with a 30-point defeat of Eastern New Mexico last night.
Lionathletics.com news release:
No. 4 seeded A&M-Commerce meets No. 5 seeded West Texas A&M, a team the Lions have won five straight against including twice this season, in the opening round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament Thursday in the Allen Event Center at 8:30 p.m.
The Lions swept the season series with a pair of wins by a total of five points. A&M-Commerce held on for a 76-75 win on the road at WT, then had to rally for a 73-69 win at home in the Field House. All told, the Lions have reeled off four straight wins against
Fast-break Points About A&M-Commerce
- The Lions have won six of their last eight games but enter the tournament after a 68-48 loss at Tarleton State.
- A&M-Commerce saw Darrell Williams earn Newcomer & Player of the Year from the Lone Star Conference ... He was also a first team selection ... Christian Macauley claimed his second all-defensive team and Defensive Player of the Year honors ... Macauley and LaDon Carnegie earned second team all-conference.
- At 21-7 overall the Lions have won 20 games for the first time since 2004-05 ... It’s the second time under head coach Sam Walker and the 15th time in program history.
- The Lions are ranked seventh in the South Central region ... A&M-Commerce has played the 12th toughest schedule
- The Lions were ranked in the NABC Top 25 poll for the 26th time in program history ... Last ranking since No. 25 on Dec. 3, 2013.
- Darrell Williams leads the LSC with 19 double-doubles, in scoring 18.2 points per game, rebounds 11.9 rebounds per game -- only player averaging a double-double ... Anthony Adams is fourth in the LSC in assists at 3.9.
- Williams has grabbed 15 plus rebounds in eight games this season and 20 plus rebounds twice during the year ... He is one of only two NCAA DII players with two 20-rebound games.
- The Lions are sixth in the NCAA in defensive rebounds, fifth in free throw attempts and in free throws made, 11th in total rebounds and 15th in field goal percentage defense.
- Williams is ranked third in the NCAA in double-doubles with 19... Williams is also fifth in the NCAA in offensive rebounds per game and in total rebounds and sixth in rebounds per game.
- A&M-Commerce had a LSC Player of the Week in each of the first four weeks of the season ... Darrell Williams has won one offensive POTW and two straight defensive POTW awards ... LaDon Carnegie was named offensive of POTW once ... Williams followed with his second offensive player of the week on January 12.
- The Lions are coached by Sam Walker ... Walker is in his 15th season with A&M-Commerce and is the school’s all-time winningest coach at 247-179 overall 103-93 in LSC games.
About the Lions in the LSC Tournament
- The LSC Tournament moved from Bartlesville, Okla. to the Allen Event Center in 2012.
- The $53 million Allen Event Center opened its doors in November of 2009 and serves as the home of the Central Hockey League’s Allen Americans and the Indoor Football League’s Allen Wranglers, as well as a variety of other concerts and events.
- The winner of the three-day event receives the LSC’s automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament.
- A&M-Commerce has appeared in the tournament a conference-best 36 times, posting a 25-32 record in 57 games.
- The Lions are 2-3 in LSC Tournament games in the Allen Event Center.
- The Lions have won the championship three times, the last of which came in 2005 at the Field House, while winning back-to-back championships in 1977 and 1978.
- A&M-Commerce won its opening round game in 2014, 74-73, over Eastern New Mexico before falling, 84-72, to then ranked No. 5 Tarleton State and the tournament’s number one seed.
