LAWTON, Okla. (Feb. 4, 2012) — Cameron clinched its birth in the Lone Star Conference Tournament Saturday afternoon with a 77-65 victory over Abilene Chrsitian.

Cameron (14-7, 10-5) dominated the majority of the game, allowing the Wildcats (10-12, 2-10) to lead only twice, once on the opening bucket and for a six second stretch in the end of the first half.

“The number one thing was, we took care of the ball,” said Head Coach Wade Alexander. “We only had six turnovers for the game. That and a lot of guys stepped up tonight. Trevor Smith gave us a big 15 minutes. Jonny Patino was two of two from three … that always helps. That was real big for us.”

The Aggies went on a 7-0 run early in the half that really helped the team to build some momentum. Andrew “Big Country” Thomas led the team offensively in the first half with eight points. Patino nailed both of his three’s in the first half, one of which was hit on a fade away as the shot clock expired which really pulled the momentum in the home teams favor.

“Our guys are really executing well right now,” Alexander said. “Country (Andrew Thomas) had a great night for us. He showed what he can do.”

Cameron really poured it on in the second half, extending its lead to a game-high 14 points at one point. After sitting out the majority of the first half because of foul trouble, Milton Garner came in and contributed 14 points and five rebounds in the half and eight for the game. Desmond Henry matched Garner’s point total with 14 of his own, providing a huge spark for the Aggies, allowing them to outscore ACU 45-36 in the half.

“On the offensive end, we are just executing really well,” the coach said. “Plus, this is two games in a row where Milt (Garner) was in foul trouble. But tonight, we were fine without him out there and able to get things done.”

“Milt, even though he didn’t score like he normally does, goes and leads us in rebounding with eight. As a team, we talking about contributing any way you can. Players did that tonight. It was a great team effort.”

The win makes two in a row for the Aggies, who will be getting a big boost next week as Vinicius Telo comes back to action. Prior to going down with an ankle injury, the junior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, led the team in scoring with 18 a game.

“That’s going to give us some post play that we are missing,” Alexander said. “That will also give the rest of our guys a confidence builder knowing we have another weapon. He’s coming back at a good time; we’re playing well without him, but I think we can play better with him.”

The team will travel to Kingsville, Texas for its next battle against Texas A&M-Kingsville (9-13, 4-9) Thursday at 8 p.m. And despite clinching, Alexander said his team will continue to strive to get better.

“We can still get better in a few areas,” he said. “While we are clicking right now, when we add Telo, we will need to get that clicking for us. We are playing well at the right time of the year, but the main thing is to stay healthy and continue to improve.”