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CU can't finish off Lions, still in hunt
LAWTON, Oklahoma (February 6) – Looking to move into third place in the Lone Star Conference North Division and closer to a postseason berth, the Cameron Aggie men’s basketball team (4-17, 2-4 LSC-North) tonight hosted the Lions of Texas A&M University-Commerce. CU entered the night in fourth place, and unfortunately that’s where they remained after falling to TAMU-C by the score 93-78. Had they won, the Aggies would have moved into third place one spot ahead of the Lions. Now CU is tied with Northeastern State and East Central at fourth place. The top four teams in both the LSC North and South divisions advance to the LSC Championship postseason tournament.
“We are still in the hunt,” Head Coach Maurice Leitzke said. “We are still right there in fourth place. We had a lot of guys contribute tonight and I’m pleased with the team’s effort. We just couldn’t get the breaks we needed.”
Cameron made nearly every other shot as they finished the game with a team shooting percentage of 49.3%. While that kind of shooting consistency is what a coach looks for, it was not enough to match TAMU-C impressive 61.9% shooting percentage.
The Lions out-rebounded the Aggies 36-19, but CU won the turnover battle by only giving the ball up 7 times to TAMU-C’s 23 turnovers. Cameron took four more shots than A&M-Commerce, 67-63, but only went to the line for four free throws in the entire game.
Texas A&M-Commerce started out the game with the lead but Cameron kept it close and refused to go away. The Aggies went into the locker room at halftime down 38-33 and came out determined to keep the game close. The Lions remained in the lead until CU took over for the first time with 13:30 left in the second half. The lead continued to change hands a number of times until TAMU-C went on a long scoring run to put the game out of reach.
“(Texas A&M) Commerce had a couple of kids that played really, really well in a fast-paced game,” Coach Leitzke said. “They are a good, solid team, and playing a team like that helps us to prepare for postseason play. We are still in the hunt.”
Three Aggies finished with a team-high 14 points but no player recorded more than 5 rebounds in tonight’s game against Texas A&M-Commerce. Juniors Dave Smith, a guard, and Chad Allan, a forward, both reached 14 points with Smith going 6-12 and Allan going 6-10 from the floor. Senior guard Maurice Cubit was the other Ag to record 14 points, going 5-10.
Smith also recorded 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in his team-high 38 minutes. Allen led the team in scoring through the first half and also finished with 4 assists and a rebound in 26 minutes on the floor. Cubit recorded an assist, a block, and a steal in 27 minutes of play.
Junior forward Leslie Malone was the only other Aggie to finish with double-digit scoring numbers as he recorded 10 points on 5-11 shooting. He also contributed 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal in his 25 minutes.
Sophomore guard Greg Morgan barely missed out on a points-assists double-double as he finished with 9 points on 4-13 shooting with 7 assists. He also recorded a strong 5 rebounds and 2 steals in 35 minutes of play.
“Physically we are just tired,” Coach Leitzke said. “This is a good time for an off week. We will be able to regroup and refocus and make a run towards the postseason.”
The Aggies are off this weekend and next travel to Ada, Oklahoma, to take on the Tigers of East Central University on Wednesday, February 13. The Aggies and Tigers tip off at 8:00pm on the campus of ECU. Tonight’s game was the final home weeknight game of the season for CU, who only has three home games remaining on their 2007-2008 schedule. Their final three games fall on consecutive Saturdays from February 16-March 1.
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