COMMERCE, Texas – Cameron rallied back from a 23 point deficit to come within a point of Texas A&M-Commerce in the second half but were unable to surpass the Lions' lead as the Aggies would fall 94-77 at Commerce Wednesday night.
The loss ends a four game winning streak by Cameron, but the Aggies retain their first place spot in the Lone Star Conference standings tied with West Texas A&M (6-3 LSC) for a half game lead over Tarleton State and Midwestern State.
Cameron had three in double figures with
Deondre Ray leading the Aggies with 21 points.
Cameron Lee scored 17 and
Jamaal Brantley was one back at 16 points. Brantley also grabbed a team high seven boards.
JV Long led in assists with seven, and he contributed eight points.
Cameron got two blocks within the first two minutes of play, but it would not be enough to stop a hot shooting Texas A&M-Commerce as Cameron would trail the entire first half with the Lions shooting 63% from the field (17-for-27) with five made three-pointers and a perfect 9-for-9 effort at the charity stripe.
A&M-Commerce took advantage of CU's cold shooting to open up a ten point edge during a four minute Aggie scoring drought. TAMUC would extend its lead to 23 at 13 seconds but fouled Lee with one second remaining, and he would go 2-for-3 at the line with CU down 48-27 at the break.
Cameron ended the first half by shooting 36.7% (11-for-30) on the floor and 40% (4-for-10) at the line with one trey.
In the second half the Aggies reigned momentum to cut at 23 point A&M-Commerce lead down to one at the 13:09 marker. Cameron improved their shooting to 47.4% from the field and 81.8% at the line with five three-pointers, three of which were drained back to back during the Aggies' comeback run attempt. However, the Lions would pull away and go 15-for-19 at the charity stripe to stay out of the Aggies' reach for the 94-77 win.
Bryant Crowder led the Lions with 24 points and four blocks.
Cameron edged the Lions in rebounded by one at 31 and had 10 turnovers to A&M-Commerce's 15 with which the Aggies exchanged for 26 points.
The Cameron men will return to Aggie Gym on Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest with Tarleton State.
