Nov. 24, 2006

Box Score

San Antonio, Texas

In a rematch of the season opener, the Texas A&M-Commerce men's basketball team defeated Paul Quinn, 89-65 in the opening game of the 2006 St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic in San Antonio on Friday night.

In the win, the Lions shot over 50 percent (57.1%) for the fourth time and forced 20-plus turnovers (23) to raise their record to 4-1. The Tigers, a NAIA member, fall to 0-5 on the season.

Senior Lamar Searight led four Lions in double figures with a game-high 21 points, seniors Martel Jones and Archie Beason added 16 and 14, respectively. In addition, junior Champ Sylvester added 13 off the bench. Also, in the win, 50 of the Lions points came in the paint and 33 off 23 Paul Quinn turnovers.

The Lions opened the game with an 11-4 run and forced five turnovers for the early advantage. Later in the half, Texas A&M-Commerce went on a 14-2 run to blow the contest wide open. With a 26-point halftime lead, 50-24, the Lions shot a season-best 61.3% from the field. Jones scored a game-high 11 and Sylvester added 10 in the first 20 minutes. Defensively, the Lions forced 14 Tigers turnovers and came up with seven steals.

Texas A&M-Commerce began the second half with a 14-5 run to take its largest lead of the game, 64-29, with 14:08 left in the contest. During the run, Searight scored five points to spark the Lions. The Tigers would claw to within 24 on a pair of occasions. Again, the Lions would dominate the inside game, outscoring Paul Quinn 24-14 on points inside the paint in the final 20 minutes. Searight scored 13 second half points and Beason added 10 to pace the Lions.

The Lions will face host St. Mary's on Saturday in the final game of the 2006 St. Mary's Thanksgiving Classic at 7 p.m.