KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team lost 87-74 to #9 Midwestern State on Wednesday night at Kingsville Hampton Inn Court.  (box score)

The two teams played an entertaining game. The Javelinas (12-12, 2-7) led 16-14 with 8:37 left in the first half. The Mustangs (23-2, 9-2) responded with a 12-2 run to take a 10-point lead. The Hoggies pulled back to within six points before halftime when Flavio Milam (Killeen/Ellison HS) made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions.

In the second half, the Mustangs got off to a quick start when Craig Green hit two three-pointers and then a lay-up to make it 44-30 just 1:04 into the half. MSU extended their lead to 18 points midway through the second half. They still led by 17 points with 6:01 left in the game.

The Javelinas quickly closed on an 11-1 run and pulled to within seven points with 3:13 remaining on a Naquawn Lee (San Antonio/East Central HS) three-pointer. They got as close as six points when Lee scored on a conventional three-point play with 2:35 left. Unfortunately, the Javelinas would not score the rest of the game and the Mustangs would pull away for the victory.

The Javelinas shot 47.2 percent from the field, made 8-of-17 three-point attempts and were 16-for-21 from the foul line. Lee led the team with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. Ryan Wallace (Spring/Tomball HS) added 15 points and five rebounds while making all five of his field goals and all four of his free throws. Milam added 10 points and five rebounds. Royce Gaye (Houston/Klein HS) and Marcus Ford (Colorado Springs, CO/Mesa Ridge HS) each added nine points.

The Mustangs shot 54.7 percent from the field, made 9-of-15 from three-point range and knocked down 20-of-25 from the foul line. Green led the team with 23 points while Chris Hagan came off the bench to score 18 points while making 4-of-5 three-point attempts. Jason Ebie added 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals while Anthony Moore contributed 10 points. MSU pulled down 12 more rebounds than the Hoggies and committed three more turnovers.

The Javelinas are back in action on Saturday at 7 o’clock at Tarleton State.
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