CANYON, TEXAS – Three days after suffering a 14-point loss at home to West Texas A&M, the Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team returned the favor on Saturday with a 77-73 win on the road in Lone Star Conference South Division play. (box score)

The Javelinas (7-13, 2-6) never trailed in the game hitting a trio of three-pointers in the first three minutes of the game to jump out to a 9-2 lead. The lead ballooned to 14 points with 9:48 remaining in the first half after Wayne Lovings (Round Rock/Stony Point HS) made a free throw to make it 23-9.

The Buffalos (17-4, 4-4) started their comeback with a three-pointer by Joe Mincey. LaDarius Hall continued the three-point barrage by knocking down a trio of long range shots. The third one cut the lead to 32-28 with 3:08 remaining in the half. The half ended with the Javelinas leading 38-34.

In the second half, the Javelinas continued to maintain their lead. Antwan Mullins (Katy/Cinco Ranch HS) led the team with 21 second half points as he went 5-for-5 from the field and 10-of-12 from the foul line.

The Buffalos tied the game at 51-51 with 10:20 remaining in the game, but were unable to take the lead. The Hoggies pushed the lead back up to 10 points with 4:17 to play on a three-pointer by Reid Wallace (Spring/Tomball HS), but the Buffs responded with a 13-3 run to tie the game at 73-73 on two free throws by Jacquiese Holcombe with 29 seconds left.

The Javelinas reclaimed the lead on a pair of free throws by Mullins with nine seconds to play. The Buffs had a chance to tie the game with a second left, but a missed free throw and a lane violation gave the ball back to the Hoggies. Mullins iced the game with a pair of free throws for the Javs.

For the Javelinas, it was their first win on the road in Canyon since a 72-68 win during the 2002-03 season. The team shot 54.5 percent from the field, made 10-of-22 three-point attempts and was 19-of-26 from the foul line. Mullins scored a career high 31 points while making 9-of-13 field goal attempts and 11-of-13 free throw attempts. Adam Morris (Goliad/Goliad HS) added 14 points as he went 3-of-6 from three-point range and Wallace finished with 10 points. The team only grabbed 20 rebounds, but limited their turnovers to 12.

The Buffs shot 50.0 percent from the field, made 9-of-19 three-point attempts and were 18-for-31 from the foul line. Hall led the team with 19 points and five rebounds while Courtney Carr added 11 points. Lionel Foster had seven points and dished out a game high seven assists. They had 33 rebounds, but committed 19 turnovers.

The Javelinas are back in action on Wednesday night at Angelo State at 7:30 p.m.
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