Men's Basketball 3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM

Hoggies Fall in Semi's

BARTLESVILLE, OKLAHOMA – The third time was not the charm for the Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team against Midwestern State. The Mustangs (23-6) used a strong second half run to get by the Javelinas (19-10) in the Lone Star Conference Tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon, 76-62 in the Bruin Field House. It was the third time this season the Mustangs defeated the Javelinas. (box score)

The Javelinas battled the Mustangs every step of the way, but when senior point guard Wendell Mulkey (San Antonio/East Central HS) went out with an injury early in the second half it gave the Mustangs the advantage they needed. The Mustangs controlled the glass and got a number of big plays from LSC South Player of the Year Nolan Richardson IV who finished with a game high 25 points.

In the first half, the Mustangs led by as many as 10 points, but a 7-0 Javelina run put the Hoggies right back in the game. The two teams went into halftime with Midwestern holding a 34-30 advantage.

The second half began with the Javelinas hitting on all cylinders. Chip Jones (Fort Worth/N. Richland Hills HS) and Royce Gaye (Houston/Klein HS) each scored on quick layups and then Jones gave the team their first lead 36-34 with a jumper. Unfortunately, Mulkey went down and shooting guard Adan Montalvo (La Joya/La Joya HS) picked up his fourth foul shortly thereafter and the complexion of the game changed.

Behind the inspired play of Robert Williams (Dallas/Kimball HS) were able to stay in the game. With eight minutes remaining, the Javs trailed just 55-50, but then the Mustangs put the game away with an 18-4 run.

“I’m very proud of this team,” said Javelina head coach Pete Peterson, “we kept fighting and playing hard when it would have been easy to throw in the towel. Now we just have to hope that we have done enough to get into the Regional Tournament.”

The Javelinas were led by Williams who had 16 points off the bench. He went 7-for-9 from the field, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals that led to breakaway dunks. Montalvo added 11 points off the bench thanks to an 8-for-8 performance at the foul line. Flavio Milam (Killeen/Ellison HS) added a team high seven rebounds. The Hoggies shot 42.0 percent from the floor, were 1-for-13 from three-point range and made 19-of-23 free throws. The 82.6 percent from the foul line was a season high for the team.

Richardson led the Mustangs with 25 points and five rebounds. He went 11-for-11 from the foul line and 4-of-8 from three-point range. Point guard Earl Rabb added 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Anthony Moore added 11 points off the bench. The team shot 40.4 percent from the field, went 4-of-10 from three-point range and connected on 30-of-36 free throws. They pulled down 15 more rebounds than the Javs while committing four more turnovers.

The Mustangs will play Southwestern Oklahoma State in the LSC Championship game on Sunday at 1 o’clock. The Javelinas will have to wait for the announcement of the NCAA Division II Regional pairings that will be made public at 8 p.m. on Sunday night.
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