KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team jumped out to a big lead on Saturday night, but was forced to knock down some key free throws in the end to hold off Angelo State, 81-78 at the Steinke Center. (box score)

The Javelinas (15-7, 5-2) and Rams (17-5, 5-2) were meeting for the second time during the Lone Star Conference’s Rivalry Week.  The Rams won in San Angelo, but the Javs win evened the teams’ conference records at 5-2 with five games remaining.

The first 16 minutes of the game were probably the best the Javelinas have played this year.  They led 44-18 and had made all six of their three-point attempts.  Junior Adan Montalvo (La Joya/La Joya HS) went 4-for-4 from downtown in a span of 2:47.  The team had a 15-0 run and a 10-0 run during the span and was clicking on all cylinders.

The Rams started to make their comeback late in the first half.  They closed the half on a 14-2 run that was capped by Johnny Barnes’ half-court heave that swished through the net as the halftime buzzer sounded.

In the second half, the two teams played a cat and mouse game with the Rams scoring a few points only to see the Javs respond right back.  A tip-in by Royce Gaye (Houston/Klein HS) with 8:14 remaining gave the Hoggies a 12-point lead.  Lionel Brown quickly erased that deficit with back-to-back three-pointers for the Rams and the game would be a dog fight the rest of the way.

Every time it appeared the Javelinas had put the Rams away, the visitors would bounce back.  In the end, the game came down to free throw shooting and the Javelinas had all the answers.  Flavio Milam (Killeen/Ellison HS) was a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity stripe despite entering the game as a 58 percent shooter for the season.  Clyde Johnson (San Antonio/Converse Judson HS) connected on two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining that forced the Rams to have to make a three-pointer to send the game to overtime.

The Javs had six players score in double figures with Anthony Jones (Fort Worth/Univ. of Houston) leading the way with 16 points off the bench.  Montalvo was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field en route to 14 points while Gaye had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.  Wendell Mulkey (San Antonio/East Central HS), Milam and Robert Williams (Dallas/Kimball HS) each had 10 points apiece.  The team shot 52.8 percent from the field, made 6-of-9 three-point attempts and was 19-of-25 at the foul line.  They committed 13 turnovers while forcing 19.

The Rams were led by point guard Ryan Bennett’s 17 points.  Brown finished the game with 15 points after scoring only three in the first half.  Malik Montii added 14 points while Barnes had 13 points and seven rebounds and Nathan Walton had 10 points and seven boards.  The Rams shot 51.8 percent from the floor, made 7-of-14 three-point attempts and were 13-of-18 at the line.  They pulled down seven more rebounds than the Javelinas.

The Hoggies are back in action on Tuesday night at LSC South rival Abilene Christian at 8 o’clock.
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