SAN ANGELO, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team held a five point lead over Angelo State with 3:51 remaining, but could not hold on and lost the Lone Star Conference South Division game, 75-66 on Wednesday night. (box score)

The Javelinas (14-7, 4-2) took a 65-60 lead after senior point guard Wendell Mulkey (San Antonio/East Central HS) scored his 22nd and 23rd points of the game on a lay-up.  Unfortunately, the Javs would go ice cold over the remainder of the game missing their final 10 field goal attempts.

The Rams (17-4, 5-1) took advantage of the Javelinas’ cold shooting and finished the game on a 15-1 run.  They made 11-of-12 free throws in the final 3:14 of the game and finished 31-of-40 for the game from the charity stripe.

In the first half, the Rams jumped out to an early nine-point lead, but the Javs were able to whittle it down to three points after a Mulkey three-pointer at the first half buzzer.  In the second half, the Rams held onto a slim lead until the Javs went on an 11-2 run giving them a 65-60 lead.

The Javelinas were led by Mulkey’s career-high 23 points that came on 10-of-15 shooting from the field.  Junior forward Robert Williams (Dallas/Kimball HS) added 12 points and eight rebounds.  Flavio Milam (Killeen/Ellison HS) contributed six points and eight boards.  The Javs shot 40.0 percent from the field, made only 4-of-18 three-pointers and were 14-for-27 from the foul line.  The team committed 10 turnovers, but only had four assists in the game.

The Rams had four players scored in double figures with Malik Motnii leading the way with 23 points and six boards.  Johnny Barnes came off the bench to score 14 points and grab seven rebounds.  Lionel Brown and Ryan Bennett contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.  Nathan Walton led all players with 10 rebounds.  The Ram pulled down 17 more rebounds than the Javelinas in the game.  The Rams shot 37.9 percent from the field, went 0-for-9 from three-point range and shot 77.5 percent from the foul line.  They dished out 10 assists and committed 12 turnovers.

The Javelinas and Rams face off again on Saturday night in Kingsville at 7 o’clock.  The game can be watched and listened to online at www.javelinaathletics.com. 
####
pr09041-smm