KINGSVILLE, Texas (Men's Basketball) - In their final nonconference game of the regular season, Texas A&M-Kingsville dominated from the tip, coming out to a 11-0 lead behind three steals before the first media timeout and ended on a high note, defeating Schreiner University (7-4), 64-56, on Saturday afternoon at the Gil H. Steinke Physical Education Center-Kingsville Hampton Inn Court.
With the victory, the Javelinas conclude nonconference play 5-7 overall and are now 23-22 all-time against the Mountaineers. The win also extended TAMUK's winning streak to eight over Schreiner.
Troy Jones finished with a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and added seven rebounds.
Jordan Jahr recorded a game-high 21 points – nine coming from three-point range - and pulled down five rebounds and
Will West registered 12 points and led all players with four swipes. The offense clicked on all cylinders, dishing out 17 assists.
Adonis Bailey and
Brandon Etienne came off the bench with four assists apiece.
At halftime, the Javelinas led 30-22 behind Jahr's 10 first-half points.
Don Thomas connected on a triple at the buzzer to give the Hogs an eight-point edge heading into the second. As a team, TAMUK registered seven steals held the Mountaineers to 6-of-22 shooting, but Schreiner's excellent free throw shooting in the first allowed SU to keep the game within reach. Schreiner went 9-of-10 from the charity stripe in the opening frame while the Javelinas did not attempt a single free throw.
TAMUK came out just as strong in the second half, holding the Mountaineers to just four points in the first six minutes of the stanza to jump to a 41-26 lead with 14:00 minutes left. Schreiner went scoreless for over four minutes between the 17:24-13:03. Jahr continued to score at will, completing an and-one to extend Kingsville's lead to 16 with 11:45 remaining. SU closed the gap in the latter minutes of the game to eight but a late run by the Hogs, capped off by a Jones dunk, and clinched the victory for the Javelinas, 64-56.
For the Mountaineers, Christian Pena finished with 18 points and Stevan Guerrero added 12 points. Despite its poor shooting performance in the opening frame, Schreiner shot 56 percent in the second half.
"Every win is critical," said head coach
Johnny Estelle. "Whenever you get to a point where you can critique your play and you come out victorious, you give yourself the opportunity to continue to improve. We tinkered with our lineup, but guys will continue to play as long as they continue producing. Everyone contributed today."
The Javelinas begin Lone Star Conference play on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. against A&M-Commerce. The Lions are 9-2 on the year and received 16 votes in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches Top 25 Poll. Commerce currently rides a seven-game win streak and is in the midst of its LSC opener versus Midwestern State University.
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Notes: Troy Jones extended his double-digit scoring streak to seven consecutive games and 10 overall…
Jordan Jahr led all scorers with 21…
DJ Weathers made his first collegiate start… the Javelinas are now 3-2 at home and finished nonconference play 5-7 overall.
