A stifling defense and shooting 54.5% from the field led the Texas A&M University-Commerce men's basketball team to a 61-43 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday afternoon.

The 43 points scored by the Savage Storm are the fewest by an A&M-Commerce opponent since a 42-point effort by SOSU on March 1, 2005 in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. Senior Scooby Johnson scored a game-high 23 points for his 19th-consecutive double digit effort of the season. Johnson nearly had a double double with nine rebounds in the win to go along with four steals.

With the win, A&M-Commerce extends its winning streak to a season-high three games and raises its overall record to 8-11 and 3-1 in the Lone Star Conference North Division. The last time that the Lions started conference play with a 3-1 mark was during the 2004-05 season where A&M-Commerce went on to win a conference title.

In the loss, the Savage Storm (3-15, 0-3) dropped their ninth-consecutive decision. Ken Reed and Kyric Rambo led Southeastern Oklahoma State with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Johnson and senior teammate Kevin Widemond outscored the Savage Storm in the first half, combining to score 33 of the Lions' 36 points. Widemond, who was coming off a career-low three point effort against Northeastern State, scored 18 - 14 of which came in the first half.

In the second half, A&M-Commerce managed to extend its lead to as much as 20 in the win. After shooting 54.2% from the field in the first half, the Lions shot 55% from the field in the second 20 minutes. Junior Rashad Brown scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Lions.

The Savage Storm cut the Lions lead to nine on three occasions in the second half. With a 44-35 lead with 9:20 remaining in the game, A&M-Commerce extended its margin to 20 with a 15-4 run to halt any chances for a comeback effort.

The Lions will play on the road for its next two games, starting with a contest at No. 12 Southwestern Oklahoma State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. The Bulldogs are currently 15-3 overall - including a 10-1 mark at home - and 3-0 in the Lone Star Conference North Division.