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Texas A&M-Commerce pulls away to Defeat Southern Arkansas
Posted by sausid on November 21, 2008 · Leave a Comment
By: Houston Taylor
MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Second half shooting woes did Southern Arkansas in while visiting Texas A&M-Commerce was using a 17-2 spurt midway in the frame to pull away for a 75-55 win Thursday in the Muleriders’ home opener at the W.T. Watson Athletic Center.
Holding a 23-14 advantage at the 10:29 mark in the first stanza, SAU watched its nine-point lead slip away as the Lions went to the break with a slim 38-37 margin. Sophomore forward Justin Stuart’s jumper put Southern Arkansas back in front to begin the second half, but that would be their final lead of the game. After two consecutive A&M-Commerce buckets, junior guard Sanchez Dade knotted it at 42-42 for the Muleriders at 16:47. But the Lions blew away from there with the big run for a 59-44 margin that was punctuated with a dunk from Deundrae Spraggins at 8:58.
SAU was never within single digits again, the last coming when it trailed 52-44 at 10:52. A&M-Commerce was up 71-49 with 3:30 left and claimed their largest margin of 23 points with 22 ticks remaining before Southern Arkansas freshman forward Casey Cheshier knocked down a three with 15 seconds left for the final score.
The Muleriders (1-2) had opposite halves, canning 12 of 21 shots in the first half at a 57.1 percent clip, but bottoming out with only 6 of 32 (18.8) in the second stanza. They missed 12 consecutive shots from the floor during the Lion’s game-turning run, getting only a pair of free throws from Stuart during the process. Sophomore guard Channin Harden finally broke the drought with a lay-up at 7:23, but they closed out the game hitting just 3 of 13, scoring only 18 second half points.
Spraggins added to SAU’s troubles, going for a game-high 24 points on 8 of 12 shooting, including 4 of 8 three’s. He also hit four of his five free throws and picked up three steals.
Southern Arkansas finished at 34.0 percent for the game on 18 of 53, including 7 of 25 (28.0) beyond the arc, and was 12 of 16 (75.0) from the free throw line. A&M-Commerce struggled in the first half on 12 of 33 (36.4) shooting, but came back to hit 15 of 30 in the second to finish at 27 of 63 (42.9). They were 7 of 23 (30.4) on treys and 14 of 21 (66.7) from the charity stripe.
Ronnie Morgan added 14 points for the Lions (2-1), and Cardell Hunter had 11.
Sophomore guard David Noble was the only Mulerider in double-figures, leading with 12 points. Senior forward Charles Moore shared game-high honors with seven rebounds.
A&M-Commerce held a 43-33 rebound advantage and used that to out-score SAU 36-16 inside. Southern Arkansas had only one offensive rebound in the first half and finished with seven in the game. They coughed up 17 turnovers, while the Lions had 14.
It was Texas A&M-Commerce’s sixth win in their past seven games against the Muleriders, and fifth consecutive, giving them an 18-13 advantage in the series. The two teams meet in Commerce on December 9.
SAU travels to Longview, Texas, Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. meeting with LeTourneau.
