LAREDO, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team built a 25-point second half lead and had to hold on for a 67-63 win at Texas A&M-International on Saturday night at the Kinesiology Building.

The Javelinas (1-1) never trailed in the game and took a 55-30 lead with 13:53 remaining in the game after a dunk from Robert Williams (Dallas/Kimball HS). The Dustdevils (1-1) responded with a 20-1 run over the next eight minutes. The Hogs committed seven of their 10 turnovers during the span.

The Dustdevils pulled to within two points on two occasions late in the game. The Javs responded both times on the very next possession. The first time, Williams drained a pair of free throws and the second time Derryl Nash (Austin/Elgin HS) knocked down a jumper. The Hoggies finally clinched the game when Ryan Layssard (Opelousas/Opelousas HS) knocked down a free throw with two seconds remaining to make it a four-point game.

The Javelinas shot 49.0 percent from the field, made 3-of-10 three-point attempts and were 16-of-22 from the foul line. Williams led the team with 26 points and three assists while going 10-for-16 from the field. Layssard added 15 points and five assists while connecting on 9-of-12 free throw attempts. The team grabbed 25 rebounds, dished out 20 assists and had 10 steals.

The Dustdevils shot 46.0 percent from the field, made 7-of-20 three-point attempts and were 10-for-14 from the foul line. Evan Matteson was the team’s leading scorer with 16 points and added five rebounds. Tyree Murray came off the bench to score 12 points while draining a trio of three-pointers. Brian Schaeffer added 10 points and six boards off the bench. They had 34 rebounds, handed out 14 assists and had four steals.

The Javelinas are back in action on Tuesday for their home opener at 7 p.m. against the same Texas A&M-International team. Live video will be available at www.tamuk.edu/live and the game can be listened to on the radio at KSIX 1230 AM or online at www.sportsradiocc.com.
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