KINGSVILLE, Texas (Men's Basketball) – The Javelinas went 30-for-41 from the free throw line, led by Jordan Jahr's 13-of-14 showing from the charity stripe. However, none were more important than the senior's final two to clinch the 96-93 double overtime victory for Texas A&M University-Kingsville (1-0) over Lake Erie College (0-1) on Friday evening on Kingsville Hampton Inn Court.
 
"We executed down the stretch and the free throws were crucial," said head coach Johnny Estelle. "I am extremely proud of our guys putting together the effort they did. Despite turning the ball over as much as we did, we hit some big shots and came up with great defensive stops."
 
Down five with just over a minute remaining, Don Thomas' three-point play cut Kingsville's deficit to two, 71-69. Continuing its havoc defense, Jamar Goodwin swiped the ball at half-court and headed to the line for two looking to tie the game. After missing both, the defense continued to swarm, forcing a jumped ball, followed by a turnover with 46.9 ticks remaining. A foul on the ensuing possession sent Thomas to the line and the newcomer connected on both from the charity stripe to tie the game at 71-71 with 37.5 seconds left. A great defensive stop by Goodwin at the buzzer forced overtime for the first time since Feb. 5 when the Javelinas were in Portales, New Mexico taking on Eastern New Mexico.
 
Trailing by three, Goodwin connected on his third triple to tie the game and after LEC took another lead, Will West hit two crucial free throws to tie the game at 78 with 2:05 left. Second chance opportunities continued to mount for the Hogs and Jones found the bottom of the net to give the Hogs an 80-78 lead with 1:15 left. On the ensuing end, Jahr swatted away a shot that led to Goodwin's 20^th and 21^st points of the game. The four-point lead for the Javelinas with 17 seconds remaining looked to be all TAMUK needed but Jamil Dudley's three-pointer from 20 feet away cut Lake Erie's deficit to one with 12 ticks left.
 
After West hit two more from the charity stripe, the Storm drained a contested three-pointer to tie the game with one second remaining and force second overtime.
 
Down six with 2:42 left in the second overtime, Jahr hit both free throws and Troy Jones forced another turnover and finished the fast break lay-up to cut LEC's lead to two. After holding the Storm scoreless on the defensive end, Jahr was fouled driving to the hoop and connected on both free throws to tie the game at 90-all with 1:42 left. Swarming defense continued and Jones' 'big boy' move led to a second-chance lay-up, giving the Javelinas a 92-90 lead with 46 seconds remaining. Jahr finished 13-of-14 from the charity stripe after hitting the second of two and with 13.5 ticks left, Thomas went to the free throw line looking to make it a two-possession game. Thomas hit one, but the Storm's three-point play with 5.5 seconds left sent Jahr to the charity stripe.
 
The Javelinas came out firing on all cylinders, as Jones found the bottom of the net and connected on his free throw for the and-one and first points of the season.
 
The Blue and Gold's swarming half-court defense led to a steal by Jahr and dunk by Duan Wright as the Hogs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening minute. With 11:50 remaining in the first half, the Hogs led 13-4 and held the Storm to just 1-of-8 shooting while going 5-of-9 from the field with two triples, both by Goodwin.
 
However, things all changed in the latter minutes of the frame as LEC took advantage of TAMUK's 10 first-half turnovers, and took a 28-26 lead after an and-one by Trey Howard. Jahr and Elliot Taylor scored back-to-back buckets as the Javelinas regained the lead, 30-28 with 1:59 left. At the half, the Hogs and Storm were tied at 33. Jahr finished the first half with 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
Sloppy play on both sides allowed the Storm to stay in the game, but despite scoring 17 points off of turnovers, TAMUK's size was too much to overcome as the Javelinas outrebounded LEC 34-24. Kingsville's 11 offensive rebounds led to 16 second-chance points. Lake Erie's 19 points off of turnovers and 23 bench points kept the Storm in the game, giving LEC a one-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the second. After Goodwin's sixth basket of the game, the lead changed for the 10^th time as the Javelinas took a 55-54 lead with 7:07 left to play.
 
Trading baskets back and forth, Lake Erie took its largest lead of the game, a five-point edge, with 4:12 left to play. The Storm added a three-pointer and after being held scoreless for two minutes, Jones' three-point play cut deficit to 65-60. A five-second violation by the Storm allowed the Javelinas to regain possession of the ball with 2:54 remaining.
 
With 1:05 left to play and trailing by five, Thomas drove to the hoop and connected on TAMUK's third and-one on the evening, cutting its deficit to 71-69 with 1:05 left to play in regulation. Three-pointers and free throws were critical in the double overtime contest as the Hogs were able to tie the contest despite trailing late in the second half.
 
Jahr finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and three steals and Thomas added 12. Goodwin finished with 21 on 9-of-17 shooting and nine points came from long distance and pulled down seven rebounds – five offensive. Jones went 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line to score 19 points and add 12 rebounds. The Hogs outscored the Storm 22-6 on second-chance points and outrebounded LEC 49-to-34.
 
Texas A&M-Kingsville takes the court again on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. against Henderson State University.
 
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Notes: The starting lineup featured three junior college transfers and two NCAA Division I transfers, including returning starter Jordan Jahr… Jahr reached double figures for the 11^th time in a Javelina uniform and scored a career-high 23 points… West hit four crucial free throws in overtime to give the Javelinas a lead or tie the game… Jahr's double-double was the second of his career… Jamar Goodwin reached 20 points in his first game as a Javelina.