Men's Basketball 1/20/2010 12:00:00 AM

Javelinas Hold Off Rams

A crowd of 3,000+ watched the Javelinas beat Angelo State in overtime

KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – A five game losing streak will put a damper on most people, but the Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team continued to persevere and on Wednesday night they were rewarded with a thrilling 97-91 overtime victory over visiting Lone Star Conference South Division rival Angelo State in front of 3,100 fans. (box score)

The IBC Bank “Pack the House” Night could not have come at a better time for the Javelinas (11-7, 1-2) as they needed all the energy they could get from their fans to hold off a pesky Ram (9-8, 1-2) squad at Kingsville Hampton Inn Court.

In the first half, the Javelinas played exceptional ball as they moved the ball well on offense and found themselves getting lay-ups and open jumpers. Freshman Brock Kimball (Ingleside/Ingleside HS) gave the team a big lift off the bench as he went 3-for-3 from three-point range in the half and sent the team to the break with a 46-35 lead.

In the second half, it was the Rams who played beautifully as they quickly pulled to within two points as they outscored the Javelinas 15-4 over a three minute stretch.

Over the final 15 minutes of the second half, the two teams would battle as each threw haymakers at the other. LaMarshall Corbett, the leading scorer in the conference, showed his wares as he continually drove to the basket and drew fouls. When he wasn’t doing that he was making three-pointers.

The Hoggies answered with Flavio Milam (Killeen/Ellison HS) and Antwan Mullins (Katy/Cinco Ranch HS). Milam scored 12 points in the final 12 minutes of the second half, including a pair of three-pointers and a thunderous dunk with 1:17 to play giving the Hogs an 84-78 lead. For his part, Mullins scored on a couple of tough driving lay-ups at the end of the shot clock.

In the final minute of regulation, the Javelinas twice missed 1-and-1 free throw attempts. Each time the Rams answered with a three-pointer. Stavon Williams hit the first one with 28 seconds left and then Corbett tied the game with 11 ticks on the clock. Mullins had a chance to win the game in regulation, but his floater in the lane was just off the mark.

In overtime, Milam got the Javelinas off to a flying start as he hit a jumper and then nailed a three-pointer within the first 37 seconds of the period. A Williams three-pointer with 1:15 left would close the gap to four points, but Mullins drained four straight free throws in the final 20 seconds to insure the victory for the Hogs.

Milam led the Javelinas with a career high 29 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Mullins added 22 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals while making 12-of-13 from the foul line. Naquawn Lee (San Antonio/East Central HS) added 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and Kimball finished with 12 points as he went 4-for-4 from three-point range in 11 minutes of action.

The Hoggies shot 53.1 percent from the field and improved to 7-0 on the season when shooting at least 40 percent from the field. They made 8-of-16 three-point attempts and were 21-for-28 at the charity stripe. They were heavily outrebounded, but made up for it by forcing 21 turnovers and committing only nine.

The Rams were led by Corbett’s 31 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and a 13-of-14 performance at the foul line before fouling out with 17 seconds left in overtime. Williams added 21 points and eight rebounds in 44 minutes. Derrick Webster had 12 points and nine rebounds. Shaver Burch just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. The Rams blocked eight shots in the game.

The Rams shot 50 percent from the field, made 7-of-17 three-pointers and were 24-for-30 at the foul line. They pulled down 16 more rebounds than the Hoggies.

The Javelinas have the weekend off and are not back in action until next Wednesday at Midwestern State at 8 o’clock.
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