Texas A&M-Commerce was victorious in its third-straight game for the first time since 1996 with a 20-17 homecoming win over Angelo State on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions (4-5, 2-1 LSC) racked up 331 yards of total offense, including the third-straight 100-yard rushing game by junior Nabil El-Amin. The running back from Rochester, New York ran for a game-high 129 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. The A&M-Commerce defense held an Angelo State ground attack that was averaging 170.5 yards per game on the ground to 115.

Angelo State (2-5, 1-2 LSC) running back Jeremy Hill came off the bench to rush 21 times for 103 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.

A&M-Commerce took the opening kickoff and marched down the field with a 15 play, 80-yard drive that culminated with a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Terry Mayo. On the drive, the Lions converted on a pair of key third down plays. El-Amin carried the ball for 27 yards on the opening drive and Mayo scampered for a pair of first downs on quarterback draw plays. With the Mayo touchdown, the Lions went ahead 6-0 as they missed the extra point.

A&M-Commerce extended its lead to 13-0 when senior Garnet Smith forced Hill to fumble at the nine-yard line. Sophomore Mark Fisher picked up the ball and ran it in from 16 yards for the touchdown. Before the end of the half, Angelo State went down the field on a nine-play, 50-yard drive for a touchdown to trim the A&M-Commerce lead to 13-to-7.

The Rams took the opening kickoff of the second half, much like the Lions in the first half, going 13 plays and 46 yards before setting a 32-yard field goal by Ryan Smith that cut the Lions lead to 13-to-10. After the ensuing kickoff, on the first play from scrimmage, El-Amin maneuvered his way through the Rams defense and got key blocks from his wide receivers and offensive line for a season-long 64 yard touchdown run. The touchdown put the Lions ahead 20-to-10. Angelo State got on the board again on a 69-yard run by Hill to trim the Lions lead to 20-to-17.

In the fourth quarter, the Rams moved into position for a game-tying field goal. At the A&M-Commerce nine, Hill ran around the outside and was met by the Lions senior linebacker Faoki Fifita, who hit Hill and forced him to fumble. A&M-Commerce junior safety Courtney Edmond recovered the fumble as the Lions prevailed with the homecoming victory. The Lions are now 43-26-1 all-time on homecoming. It is the first time since 1990 that A&M-Commerce has defeated Angelo State on homecoming as the two teams have met on four other occasions.

The Lions will take to the road for its next two contests when they face East Central, next Saturday, at 2 pm in Ada and on November 10th at Southwestern Oklahoma in Weatherford at 2 pm.