STEPHENVILLE – No. 22 Tarleton's comeback attempt came up short in the final seconds in a 67-65 loss to Texas A&M-Commerce in Wisdom Gym.
 
Tarleton falls to 15-5 on the year and 4-3 in the Lone Star Conference.
 
The Lions led throughout the first half and built an 11-2 lead over Tarleton in the first five minutes of play. Two minutes later, Charles Hill drained a 3-pointer to make the score 13-9, which was the closest Tarleton would get in the first half. The Texans were down 37-25 at the break.
 
Trailing 45-34 with 15:57 left in the game, Tarleton responded with a 9-0 run, including five straight points from EJ Reed, to cut the deficit to 45-43. Reed finished with a team-high 21 points and five rebounds. It was Reed's 10^th 20-point outing of the season and his third-career game with at least three made 3-pointers.
 
Senior forward Jakob Damstra came off the bench and provided a spark for Tarleton on both ends of the floor during the second-half surge. Damstra's layup at 8:51 cut Commerce's lead to 49-48 and the 6-foot-10 Dublin native took a charge at the top of the floor on the ensuing possession to set up a pair of Michael Hardge free throws that gave Tarleton its first lead of the game. Damstra finished with four points on the night.
 
After trailing by double digits for much of the first half and parts of the second, the two teams would exchange leads nine times in the final seven minutes. The Texans took their biggest lead of the game at 64-62 on a corner 3-pointer from Deshawn Riddick with 1:13 remaining. The sophomore guard scored all 10 points in the second half and had three assists.
 
The Lions, however, would go 5-6 from the free-throw line in the final minute and Tarleton turned the ball over with five seconds remaining to end the game.
 
Tarleton had 34 points off the bench, led by Xavier Smith's 13 points, a team-high seven rebounds and two blocks. Chantz Chambers displayed his all-around abilities by scoring seven points, dishing out six assists and grabbing six boards. Michael Hardge also recorded six assists for Tarleton, giving the senior guard at least five assists in four of the last five games.
 
Tarleton will look to bounce back at home when the Texans take on Midwestern State on Wednesday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.