AUSTIN, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team battled all the way back from a 16-point first half deficit at St. Edward’s, but were stopped short in the final minutes and lost 85-76.

The deciding sequence in the game came when the Javelinas (2-2) missed a pair when they were trailing by six points with 1:54 remaining. The Hilltoppers (3-0) responded on the ensuing possession by finally scoring after three chances on Khaliq Gross’ conventional three-point play with 54 seconds left.

The first half belonged to the Hilltoppers. After the Javelinas took an early 7-3 lead, St. Ed’s responded with a 26-6 run over the next nine minutes. The Hilltoppers limited the Hoggies to just 27.8 percent shooting in the first half.

The Javelinas turned the tables in the second half. They scored the first eight points of the half with Reid Wallace (Spring/Tomball HS) hitting a three-pointer and knocking down a jumper in the lane. St. Edward’s was able to build the lead back to 10 points before the Javs went on a 9-0 run with 13:08 remaining in the game to pull to within one point. From that point on the lead changed hands four times over the next seven minutes.

The Hilltoppers regained the lead for good with 4:45 remaining in the game on a Shimeek Johnson three-pointer. The Javelinas were able to pull back to within three points on a Derryl Nash (Austin/Elgin HS) three-pointer with 2:12 remaining in the game setting up the final sequence.

The Javelinas shot 38.7 percent from the field, made 7-of-22 three-point attempts and were 11-of-18 from the foul line. Nash led the team with a season high 23 points while grabbing five rebounds and picking up three steals. Robert Williams (Dallas/Kimball HS) added 21 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Wallace finished with seven points and nine rebounds. The Hogs had 39 rebounds, dished out 17 assists and had only 11 turnovers.

The Hilltoppers shot 39.2 percent from the field, made 8-of-31 three-point attempts and were 19-for-23 from the foul line. St. Edward’s held a huge advantage on the glass with 21 more rebounds than the Javelinas. Gross led the team with 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Johnson added a double-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Zilijan Jones added 13 points and six rebounds while Matt Miner had 12 points. Chris Wacker came off the bench to pull down 11 rebounds. The Toppers dished out 13 assists and turned the ball over 18 times.

The Javelinas are back in action on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at home against Texas Lutheran.
####
pr11409smm