Five Lone Star Conference Men's Basketball teams opened league play undefeated, highlighted by 2-0 starts from Texas A&M-Commerce and UAFS. Both teams picked up two home wins, while UAFS earned an upset victory on New Year's Eve over No. 3 West Texas A&M. Texas A&M International, UT Permian Basin and UT Tyler were the other teams to record perfect weeks.
LSC men’s basketball teams are 124-63 overall and 20-12 against the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the other conference in the South Central Region.
LSC schedule and results are available here:
https://lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=mbball
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Augustine Ene, Texas A&M-Commerce, SR, Business Administration, F, Carrollton, Texas, Creekview HS
Ene led the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions in scoring in both conference games this past week, shooting well above 60 percent from the floor. He scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and grabbed five rebounds against Midwestern State on Friday and scored 16 points going 4-of-8 from the floor while grabbing four rebounds against DBU for the Lions. Ene hit 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and hit 9 of his 10 free throw attempts. The senior also had three assists, two blocks, and a steal over the weekend. He is fourth in the conference with a three-point percentage of .452. The Lions are one of two 2-0 teams in the LSC.
DEFENSIVE
Evan Anderson, UAFS, JR, Business Administration, G, Carrollton, Texas, Hebron HS
Anderson led UAFS to a 2-0 start in conference with wins over No. 3 West Texas A&M and Cameron. The junior locked down the perimeter helping hold WT to just 31.3 percent from beyond the arc, and contained Larry Wise, holding the Buffs leading scorer entering the weekend to just five points, nearly 10 points below his season average. He also swiped four steals and pulled down five rebounds. Offensively, Anderson dished out seven assists and committed zero turnovers while contributing seven points. In the win against Cameron, The Carrollton native registered a pair of blocks and two rebounds while helping hold the Aggies to just 23.8 percent from three-point range. He also added another seven assists to go along with zero turnovers and 11 points. As a team, the Lions held opponents to just 28.3 percent from long distance and 66 points per game during the week.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
N-15 Devaughn Thomas, Angelo State
N-22 Matthew Wilson, UAFS
N-29 Zach Toussaint, West Texas A&M
D-6 Larry Wise, West Texas A&M
D-13 DaJuan Jones, UT Permian Basin
D-21 Lloyd Daniels, Lubbock Christian
J-3 Augustine Ene, Texas A&M-Commerce
Defensive
N-15 Kavon Booker, West Texas A&M
N-22 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian
N-29 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian (2)
D-6 Kavon Booker, West Texas A&M (2)
D-13 Clashon Gaffney, Texas A&M-Commerce
D-21 Parker Hicks, Lubbock Christian (3)
J-3 Evan Anderson, UAFS
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Matthew Wilson, UAFS, scored 32 points on 8-of-18 shooting, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and 10-of-15 at the free throw line as the Lions upset No. 3 West Texas A&M, 75-69. He also added five assists. He averaged 18.5 points and 3.5 assists for the weekend as UAFS opened LSC play 2-0. He currently leads the LSC in scoring at 21.4 points per game.
Terrell Wilson, Midwestern State, poured in a career-high 28 points in Sunday's 69-68 loss at UT Tyler. The junior from Houston connected on 10-of-16 shots and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the arc. He added three rebounds, three assists and three steals in 30 minutes. Wilson also scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half Friday at Texas A&M-Commerce. He has scored in double figures in each of his last five games and seven of the last eight.
Uche Dibiamaka, St. Edward's, was the primary offensive spark for the Hilltoppers this week, shooting nearly 60 percent from the field to average 19.5 points per game on the week. He added three assists and three blocks to go with two steals as SEU opened conference play with a 1-1 mark.
Josh Brewer, St. Mary’s, led the way for the Rattlers in just 19 minutes of action with 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal in the 103-45 win over Ecclesia. He was 6-of-8 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from the three-point line and was 3-for-3 at the free throw line.
Zach Toussaint, West Texas A&M, led the Buffs offense that went 1-1 in the opening weekend of conference play. The sophomore guard averaged 16.5 points while scoring 19 against UAFS in the conference opener with five 3-pointers. Toussaint hit 9-of-14 from the deep for the week and now ranks third in the LSC with 43 total 3-pointers.
Drew Tennial, Oklahoma Christian, keyed Oklahoma Christian’s 73-64 win over Cameron on Friday night in the Eagles’ LSC opener, leading his team in both scoring (19 points, on 7-of-12 shooting) and rebounding (nine). He also led the Eagles in both categories in a 91-56 loss to No. 3/4-ranked West Texas A&M on Sunday, finishing with 13 points and five rebounds to go with three assists and two steals.
Clashon Gaffney, Texas A&M-Commerce, continued his nation-leading pace of four blocks per game in the two conference-opening wins for the Lions. He had four blocks in each game this past weekend while also scoring in double digits in both games and grabbing nine rebounds against DBU and four against Midwestern State. The Lions are one of two 2-0 teams in the conference and lead the country in blocks.
Addison Wallace, West Texas A&M, averaged eight rebounds for West Texas A&M as the Buffs moved to 14-2 on the season. Wallace brought down 16 total rebounds with a pair of steals helping a Buffs defense that limited opponents to a 65.5 scoring average. The Cleburne, Texas product had a game-high nine rebounds in the conference opener against UAFS.