Led by senior forward Darrell Williams 24 points and 21 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season and first 20-20 game the A&M-Commerce men’s basketball team got back to its winning ways with a 91-68 thrashing over Arlington Baptist Monday night in the Lions’ 2015 home opener in the Lion Field House.
Williams, who entered Monday night’s contest one of just eight players in the NCAA with a 20 rebound game becomes just second player at not just the NCAA Division II level but the entire NCAA to record 20 or more rebounds for the second time during the 2014-15 season. He is also the fourth player at the DII level to couple a 20 plus rebound game together with a 20 plus point performance after tacking on his 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. In all three levels of NCAA basketball in the 2014-15 season, a player has recorded a 20-point, 20-rebound game 10 times.
After Williams started the scoring off for the Lions the Patriots got on the scoreboard and took what would turn out to be their only lead of the game on a 3-pointer from Patrick Howard. The lead was shorted lived as Williams stepped into a rhythm jumper on the ensuing Lion possession. A&M-Commerce yielded, the lead only once more, a tie for 33 seconds at six all a minute and a half into play, before quickly gaining command of the game. The Patriots did threaten after chiseling the lead down to five points, 56-51, at the 14-minute mark, but the Lions responded by pushing the gap back to 20 points, 76-56, over the next five minutes on the heels of a 20-5 run.
After struggling through their worst shooting percentage against Midwestern State on Saturday, the Lions responded with their most efficient offensive output of the season tossing in a 33 of their 60 attempts from the floor for a sizzling 55 percent. A&M-Commerce converted seven of its 18 3-point attempts, and for the eleventh time this season and 1oth straight game made more free throws than their opponents by going 18-of-24 from the charity stripe for 75 percent. Arlington Baptist attempted only 13 foul shots with seven makes for 54 percent. The Patriots where limited to just 36 percent from the floor and 29 percent, 9-of-21, from long range.
After being out-rebounded for the first team in their last outing, the Lions righted the ship collecting 45 rebounds compared to just 33 for the Patriots.
Anthony Adams and JR Owens trailed Williams offensively as the duo each chipped in 13 points. Adams was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field including a pair of triples. He also handed out four assists directing the Lion offense. Owens meanwhile, went 5-of-9 from the floor to earn his 13 points – just one shy of his career-high set earlier in the season against Sul Ross State. However, Ray Dorsey did notch a career-high points after going 4-of-6 with one three and three free throws for 12 points. De’Andre Carson presence was felt on the Lion offense as the sophomore guard dished out a career-high seven assists.
For the Patriots, Howard scored a team-high 13 points, while Josh Green and Raphael Garcia added 12 points apiece.
The Lions will return to action Thursday, January 8 at Texas A&M-Kingsville with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. or immediately following the women’s contest slated for 5:30 p.m. A&M-Commerce (10-3, 0-1) will look to notch its first Lone Star Conference win of the season against the 5-7 Javelinas.