By Tyler McDonough | Senior Sports Reporter

Commerce, TX- The No. 25 Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team fell to Western New Mexico 74-73 at home in the fieldhouse on Thursday night.

The Lions fall to 14-4 and 6-2 in the Lone Star Conference. The Mustangs improve to 4-11 and 1-7 in conference play.

The Lions remain at home to host UT-Permian Basin on Saturday. The game will be played at 4:00 p.m. at the Field House, following the Lion women’s basketball team against the Falcons. Tickets for the doubleheader are available at WeAreLionsTix.com, by calling (903) 468-8756 or by visiting the Lion Sales & Service Box Office in the Field House.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Reggie Reid (Harlem, Ga.) led the Lions with 19 points, and 3 assists.
– Willie Rooks (Houston – North Forest) also led the Lions with 19 points, and 9 rebounds. Rooks played the most minutes in the game logging 42 total minutes.
– Rodney Brown (Beaumont- West Brook) had 11 points, Deonta Terrell (Chicago, Ill.) pitched in 9 points, Trey Conrod (Kilgore) had 8 points, Srdan Budimir (Karadjordjevo, Servia) had 11 points, and Carson Tuttle (Mukilteo, Wash.) had two points.
– The Lions shot 36 percent from the field in the game and made 19 percent of their three-pointers (6-for-31).
– The Lions also shot 77 percent from the line (17-22).
HOW IT HAPPENED

The Lions jumped off to a hot start with an early 16-7 lead, but the Mustangs answered quickly a few minutes later to cut the Lions lead to 20-17. The Lions only trailed for 22 seconds in the first half.

Both teams continued to hit shots in the first half, trading baskets throughout the half.

The Lions eventually pulled ahead with 5 straight points to end the half and take a 40-30 lead going into the break.

Reggie Reid came out the gates strong with 11 first half points and 2 assists. Willie Rooks also added in 10 points to help propel the Lions.

WNMU started the second half strong and never looked back. The Lions clawed their way back into the game and forced overtime after falling down seven points late in the second half.

The Mustangs held off the Lions in overtime to take a 74-73 victory.