Lions fall 93-88 in overtime to Islanders, clinch fifth seed in SLC Tournament

Lions fall 93-88 in overtime to Islanders, clinch fifth seed in SLC Tournament | https://lionathletics.com/

By Press release submission

Mar 10, 2023

Lions fall 93-88 in overtime to Islanders, clinch fifth seed in SLC Tournament

Playing a program-record fifth overtime game this season, the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team was downed 93-88 in the regular season finale by the Texas A&M Corpus-Christi on Wednesday night in the Field House.

There were 19 lead changes in the game, but none in overtime as the Islanders started the extra period with a 7-0 run and outscored the Lions, 15-10, in the extra five minutes.

The Lions, in their first Division I season, finish with a record of 13-19 overall and finish fifth in Southland Conference play with a 9-9 record. The Islanders are the conference champion with a 14-4 conference record and an overall record of 21-10.

A&M-Commerce is the fifth seed in Southland Conference Tournament and faces eighth seeded McNeese in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Sunday at 5 p.m.

In regulation, neither team had a lead bigger than three points in the final 11 minutes of the game. A&M-Commerce had a 60-54 lead with 11:25 to go, but A&M-Corpus Christi tied it at 62 with 9:18 to go in the game.

The Islanders took a 78-75 lead with 1:14 to go, the Lions cut it down to one and had two free throws to take the lead with 27 seconds left, but only made one. The Islanders on the other end had their game-winning shot bounce off the rim. The Lions' C.J. Roberts' (Irving – Richland) long buzzer-beater attempt also bounced off the rim.

A&M-Commerce went up by 10 in the first half, but the Islanders had a 9-0 run down the stretch in the first half as well. Twelve of the 19 lead changes came in the second half.

Roberts came off the bench and scored 24 points off the bench with three rebounds and three assists. Jerome Brewer, Jr. (Camden, N.J.) scored 16 with two rebounds and a steal. Demarcus Demonia (Fort Washington, Md.) tallied 14 points, four rebounds, and an assist.

Alonzo Dodd (St. Paul, Minn.) scored nine points and led the team with five assists. JJ Romer Rosario (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.) scored 10 points with five rebounds, while both Kalen Williams (Augusta, Ga.) and Alex Peavy (San Antonio – Smithson Valley) added seven points each.

Terrion Murdix scored 27 for the Islanders, while Isaac Mushila added 21, and Ross Williams scored 15 off the bench.

The five overtime games for the Lions in 2022-23, thus far, are the most in a single season in program history. The Lions are 3-2 in overtime games, which is tied for most overtime wins in a season. Both A&M-Commerce and A&M-Corpus Christi split the two regular season meetings.