Texas A&M University-Commerce rallied from a 15-point first half deficit to defeat No. 19 West Texas A&M, 69-63, in the first round of the 2008 Lone Star Conference Tournament.

The Lions (13-15) tandem of Scooby Johnson and Kevin Widemond each scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the win. The nine rebounds for Widemond are a career-high and he also had a game-high five assists in the win. The victory avenges a 72-65 loss on November 29th and an 82-80 defeat in the first round of the 2007 tournament.

In the win, the Lions outrebounded the Buffs, 38-30, including a decisive 15-to-6 advantage on the offensive boards. A&M-Commerce has had 15-or-more offensive rebounds in seven games.

West Texas A&M (21-7) was led by Robert Lee, who scored 24 points before fouling out. He was joined in double figures by Pierre Barlow, who scored 11 points off the bench.

In the win, A&M-Commerce scored eight of the last 10 points in the contest and 15 of the last 17 in the first half. Trailing 51-50 with 8:18 to go in the contest, Johnson hit his third 3 pointer that put the Lions ahead for the remainder of the contest.

West Texas A&M got within one, 55-54, on a three-point play by Lee. On the ensuing two possessions, a thunderous dunk by Rashad Brown and a jumper by Widemond extended the Lions lead to five. The two teams exchanged baskets, including a 3 pointer by Lee that cut the lead to 61-59 with 3:28 to go. Next, WT came down the court and a three pointer attempt by Lee came up short.

The two teams would exchange baskets until Widemond came down with his own offensive rebound with 29 seconds remaining that forced West Texas A&M to foul. The Buffs elected to foul senior Derrick Darkis, who sank two free throws and came up with a clutch rebound on an errant three-point attempt by Tyler Cooper. Widemond put the finishing touches on the win with a lay up with six seconds to go.

Earlier in the game, a 12-2 run midway through the first half put West Texas A&M in front, 21-11 with 9:35 left in the first half. After WT extended its lead to as much as 15, 34-19, with 3:44 remaining in the first half, the Lions rallied to score 15 of the final 17 points of the opening half to trim the deficit to two, 36-34.

The Lions will now face Abilene Christian, who defeated Southwestern Oklahoma State, 108-98 in double overtime, on Friday at 6:00 p.m.