COMMERCE, Texas - The Southeastern Savage Storm men's basketball team has earned the right to host the first round of the Lone Star Conference tournament with a 72-66 win over Texas A&M Commerce Saturday. The Southeastern women fell 81-76 in the day's opener.

The men continue to lead the standings in LSC North divisional play with an 8-2 record. Central Oklahoma follows with a 7-3 record.

The Storm and the Bronchos will face one another 8 p.m. Wednesday in Edmond. A win there would make the Storm the North's No. 1 seed in the postseason.

Men

Southeastern exploded with 22-9 run in the first 7:45 of action before the Lions scored on three straight treys and a lay-up to get within two, 22-20, at the 8:58 mark in the first half. The Savages held the lead until the 1:16 mark when A&M-Commerce's Lamar Searight hit a trey for the first Lion lead of the game. Southeastern's Stephen Harrel knotted the game, 37-37, with a three-pointer, before the Lions scored the final bucket of the half to lead 39-37 at the half.

Both teams battled in the second half as the Lions continued to hold the lead until the 2:38 mark.

Eric Babers knotted the game for the sixth and final time, 66-66, with a free throw, and then Babers' second free throw put the Storm on top for good as Southeastern closed out the game with Matt White taking two trips to the charity stripe.

For the game, Southeastern shot 40 percent from the field, 23.1 percent beyond the arc and were 22-30 at the free throw line.

Babers led the Storm as he posted his ninth double-double of the season with a game-high 17 points and 11 rebounds. Robert Aitken followed with 16 points and three rebounds. Jason Stampley scored 15, followed by Harrel with 11 to round out double-digit scoring.

The Lions were 42.2 percent from the field, 28 percent beyond the arc and 5-11 at the stripe. Searight led A&M-Commerce with 16 points.

Women

Despite a strong first half performance by Southeastern, the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions came out on top.

Southeastern is now 8-17 overall and 2-8 in conference play, while the Lions are 14-11 and 6-4.

A 14-0 run in the final four minutes of the first half gave the Storm a 35-46 halftime advantage, and Southeastern kept the lead over most of the second half.

With 5:04 left in the game, A&M-Commerce's Tradawn Short knotted the game, 70-70, with a jumper. The Lions would end the game with an 11-6 run for the win.

For the game, Southeastern shot 39.3 percent from the field, 44.4 percent beyond the arc and 20-22 at the line. A&M-Commerce shot 51.5 percent from the field, 33.3 percent beyond the arc and 9-12 at the free throw line.

Jessica Hocker led the Storm with a game-high 20 points, followed by Lora Loy with 19 and Sami Jo Cotton-Black with 14. The Lions were led by Kanani Marshal with 19.