Kingsville – It took 80 years, but with a 55-43 win over Northeastern State, the Javelina basketball team equaled a school record with their fifth consecutive win to start a season. Not since the 1927-27 Hog team started the year 5-0 had a Javelina team gotten off to such a good start to a season.
The loss dropped the Redmen to 0-5.
Texas A&M-Kingsville beat the Redmen at their own game, playing hard-nosed pressure defense. It is the same style that won Northeastern State a national championship four years ago.
It was the fewest points the Javelinas had allowed to a Lone Star Conference team since a 59-41 victory over Abilene Christian during the 2001-02 season.
“A win is a win, we don’t care about how many points we score,” said Javelina head coach Pete Peterson. “Defense is our mainstay. We did not shoot the ball well tonight, but we hit a few in a row.”
After being held scoreless for the first 17 minutes of the game, senior guard Remi Yusuf found his game, hitting five of his final six shots of the night to finish with 13.
Ricky Huckaby led the Javelinas with 14 points.
Texas A&M-Kingsville forced 23 turnovers while turning it over just nine times.
After putting together a late 10-0 run to garner a nine-point advantage at the half, the Javelinas stretched the lead to 14, 42-28, with 11:30 left in the game.
Defense was the key as the Javelinas forced five turnovers in the first six and a half minutes.
The offense did it’s fare share as well, awaking from its first half slumber to hit 5 of its first 8 shots with Yusuf hitting a pair including a 3-pointer.
The second half lead grew to as many as 16 when Wendell Mulkey scored on a driving layup with 8:30 left in the game.
The Redmen never cut the lead under double-digits in the final 18 minutes of the game.
The Javelinas held the Redmen without a field goal from 8:02 mark of the second half until there were only 58 seconds left in the game.
The Javelinas held the lead for nearly the entire first half, but it wasn’t easy.
There were five ties in the first seven and a half minutes before the Javelinas put together a 6-1 run to grab a 17-12 lead with 8:11 left in the half.
Rickey Huckaby, Ralph Davis and Darrell Blackburn each scored baskets during the run.
The Javelinas hit just seven of their first 20 shots, but forced eight Redmen turnovers in the first 12 minutes.
But consecutive layups by Huckaby and Wendell Mulkey equaled the Javelinas biggest led of the half at 23-18
But Texas A&M-Kingsville didn’t stop there.
Star guard Remi Yusuf didn’t score his first point and the Javelinas missed their first nine 3-point shots, until Yusuf hit a 3-point shot with 2:43 left in the half. Forty seconds later, Yusuf hit another 3-point bomb to increase the lead to 29-18, capping the Javelinas’ 10-0 run.
The Redmen scored on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to seven, 29-22, but Yusuf tipped in a missed shot at the buzzer to give the Javelinas a 31-22 halftime lead.
Huckaby led the Javelinas in the first half with 11 points followed by Yusuf with eight.
