Four Lions Score in Double Digits to Knock Off No. 5 Arkansas-Monticello, 72-69
The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s basketball team knocked off No. 5 Arkansas-Monticello, 72-69, on Tuesday afternoon at the Recreation and Convocation Center in Austin, Texas.
A&M-Commerce (6-5) senior DeUndrae Spraggins scored a game-high 22 points as the Lions knocked off its second ranked team of the season. The Madison, Illinois native was joined in double digits by a career-high 17 from Brad Hambrick, 13 from Sammy Jackson and 11 from Ronnie Morgan. Spraggins also had a team-high five rebounds and a game-high three steals in the win.
No. 5 Arkansas-Monticello (9-2), who lost for the second-straight day, got a team-high 18 points from Bernard Seymour. In the loss, the Boll Weevils saw its backcourt tandem of Deron Brown and Duke Sturdivant leave the game with injuries. UAM forward Raymond Wright had a double double in the loss with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Also in double figures was Don Riley, who scored 14 points off the bench.
With the game tied at 17-17 and with 6:11 left in the opening half, there was a collision between the Lions’ Dominique Taylor and the Boll Weevils’ Duke Sturdivant. In the collision between the two players, Sturdivant sustained a serious injury and was carted off on a stretcher that prompted a 30-minute delay in the contest. When action resumed, the Lions went on a 9-2 spurt to take a 26-19 lead with 3:21 remaining in the first 20 minutes. A&M-Commerce went into the halftime break with a 32-23 advantage, marking the seventh time on the season that the Lions hit the intermission with a lead.
A&M-Commerce scored the first six points of the second half to take the biggest lead of the game, 38-23, with 17:35 to go. The Boll Weevils answered with a 16-0 run to take a 39-38 advantage with 12:38 remaining. The game would remain close down the stretch with three more ties until a decisive 7-0 spurt late in the half that included a 3-point play by Lions’ Hambrick and a dunk by Morgan.
The Lions will now turn their attention to a rigorous Lone Star Conference schedule, starting with a contest at Abilene Christian on Saturday, January 3rd at 4 p.m. in Abilene. The Wildcats were picked to finish third in the Lone Star Conference South Division and are led by Dejan Sencanski, the LSC South Division Pre-Season Player of the Year.
