The Texas A&M University-Commerce Lion men’s basketball team won back-to-back games against the University of Texas at Tyler Patriots on Jan. 22 and 23 with 79-75 and 78-74 scores.

The first victory was a hard-fought win as the Patriots led 42-31 at the end of the first

period. The Lions outscored the Patriots 48-33 during the second period enroute to a victory.

When reflecting on how the team pulled off the comeback, associate head coach

Coleman Furst stated that their defensive performance in the second period allowed them to fight

back.

“We started playing more aggressively on offense because of our intensity on defense,”

Furst said. “We started playing downhill and getting to the rim, which was huge for us.”

This win marked the fourth time in as many seasons that the Lions won a game while

trailing with five minutes to play.

The second victory was also a difficult one, with the Lions only leading 35-33 after

the first period. The second period saw seven ties and nine lead changes, but the Lions ultimately

outscored the Patriots 43-41 in the second period.

During their second victory, the Lions set a new school record for most made free throws

without missing, going a perfect 16-for-16. The previous record was 14-for-14, which was set on Feb. 16, 1970, had stood ever since.

Furst said that free throws have been a component of the game that the team has

struggled with during the season and was proud of that statistic.

“I don’t know where that came from, but hopefully we can keep that momentum going,”

Furst said.