KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men’s basketball team ran off a 30-8 second half run against Lone Star Conference rival Abilene Christian to blow open a tight game and cruised to a 72-59 victory on Saturday at Kingsville Hampton Inn Court.

The Javelinas (8-7, 3-4) only made 39 percent of their second half shots, but managed to connect on 6-of-10 three-point attempts in the half. The Javs led by as many as 22 points in the second half before the Wildcats (6-8, 0-6) closed on a 13-4 run in the final four minutes.

The first half was tight the whole way with six ties and two lead changes. The Javelinas led by as many as seven points and only trailed for 29 seconds in the period.

The Javelinas shot 39.1 percent from the field, made 10-of-22 from three-point range and were 26-of-32 at the charity stripe. Ashton Brown (Randolph, NY/Central HS) led the team with 25 points on 4-of-5 shooting from three-point range and a perfect 11-for-11 performance at the foul line. Reid Wallace (Spring/Tomball HS) had his best game of the season with 11 points and eight rebounds while making 3-of-5 from three-point range. Ryan Layssard (Opelousas, LA/Opelousas HS) came off the bench to chip in 10 points.

The Wildcats grabbed two more rebounds and committed one less turnover than the Javelinas.
The Wildcats were limited to 29.0 percent shooting in the second half and 37.3 percent for the game. They were 4-of-13 from three-point range and 11-for-13 at the foul line. Dosh Simms led the team with 12 points and eight rebounds while Zach Williams added 11 points and seven boards. Antonio Bell and Marc Little each scored nine points apiece.

The Javelinas will now take an 11-day break before they travel to Incarnate Word on January 18.

Marcus Ford's (Colorado Springs, CO/Mesa Ridge HS) second half block broke the school's career record giving him 65. Brown entered the game as the top free throw shooter in the country and is now shooting 96.5 percent from the charity stripe for the season.