Lions Pick Up 73-59 Win Over St. Mary's

Texas A&M University-Commerce scored 24 of the first 33 points of the second half en route to a 73-59 win over host St. Mary’s on Friday night in San Antonio.

The win is the third in a row to start the season for the Lions, who had three players in double figures. Seniors Cardell Hunter (pictured) and Ronnie Morgan each scored a team-best 14 points and senior Justin Wilkerson added 11 more to the cause. Cardell Hunter also had six assists and Wilkerson added five rebounds to the win.

Early in the second half, A&M-Commerce (3-0) junior Dallas Hunter scored five in a row as the Lions built a double-digit lead with an 11-0 run to take a 52-36 lead with 11:03 left in the game. The lead remained double digits for the rest of the contest for the win.

St. Mary’s (2-3) was led by Curtis Mitchell, who scored a game-high 23 points on the strength of four three pointers. Kevin Kotzur had a double double for the Rattlers, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss.

The Lions shot 56.1% from the field as Kotzur blocked eight A&M-Commerce shot attempts. The 56.1% is the highest clip since a 57.1% effort by A&M-Commerce against Central Oklahoma on February 25, 2009.

Morgan and Brad Hambrick each had seven points and Cardell Hunter added six as the Lions’ went into the halftime break with a 33-31 lead. It marked the third time that A&M-Commerce had entered the intermission with the lead.

A&M-Commerce will face Langston in its final game of the River City Classic on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.