COMMERCE, Texas (Jan. 18, 2020) – A strong finishing kick by Texas A&M-Commerce proved to be the difference on Saturday as the Lions downed Oklahoma Christian.

TAMUC outscored the Eagles 21-7 over the final 7:39 to pull away for an 82-69 win at the TAMUC Field House, spoiling what had been an impressive second-half rally by OC.

OC (5-10, 4-7 Lone Star Conference) trailed by nine points before taking a 62-61 lead with 7:57 left on a pair of free throws by Marcus Blackwell, but TAMUC (12-5, 8-3) responded by scoring the next seven points and the Lions never looked back. The Eagles still had a chance, down only 75-69 after a basket by Blackwell with 1:36 left, but TAMUC scored the game's final seven points.

Senior guard Aubrey Johnson scored a season-high 24 points to lead OC, hitting 5 of 10 3-point attempts. Will Lienhard (13 points, nine rebounds, two blocked shots) and Blackwell (13 points, eight rebounds) just missed double-doubles and Dedrian Parmer Jr. added 12 points. Lienhard's scoring total included just his second career 3-pointer.

But TAMUC's Wayne Stewart – one of the Lone Star's top scorers – had 22 points (on 7-of-9 shooting), 14 rebounds and three blocks, while Darnell Wright added 16 points and six rebounds for the Lions, who outrebounded OC 33-26. TAMUC also shot 52.8 percent (28 of 53) from the field, matching the highest percentage this season by an OC opponent, and went 14 of 30 from 3-point range (46.7 percent).

"It was a tough week for us," OC basketball coach Kendre Talley said. "The one constant thing is that we did a good job of controlling what we can, which is our attitude and effort. We have a tough ball club that competes game in and game out. We have struggled offensively, but our defense has given us a chance every game. We have to have a couple of guys step up offensively and as a team play more consistent."

OC, which entered the game ranked 10th in NCAA Division II in scoring defense, played the game at its preferred slower pace in the first half and held the lead on three occasions before TAMUC took a 32-28 halftime lead.

But the pace immediately quickened to start the second half, as the teams combined to hit their first six shots, three of those 3-pointers. Soon, a dunk by Deonta Terrell gave the Lions a 44-35 advantage with 17:20 left.

An 11-3 run by OC, highlighted by seven points by Blackwell, pulled the Eagles within 47-46 at the 13:31 mark. TAMUC pushed its lead to 58-50 with 11:06 left, but Johnson buried consecutive 3-pointers during an 8-0 run to tie the game at 58-58 with 9:02 left.

OC will return home for a pair of games next week, hosting LSC divisional rivals Midwestern State (Texas) on Thursday and Cameron on Saturday.