KINGSVILLE, Texas (Men's Basketball) – Troy Jones finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds,
Thomas Diaz pulled down seven boards off the bench and
DJ Weathers poured in 15 points as Texas A&M University-Kingsville (7-2) improved to 4-0 inside the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center-Kingsville Hampton Inn Court with a 58-53 victory over South Central Regional member St. Mary's University (4-4) Monday evening.
Jones finished 8-of-13 from the floor to reach double figures for the seventh consecutive game and eighth of the season. As a team, the Hogs were able to go 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.
"It is important to defend your home floor," said head coach
Johnny Estelle. "We were able to come up with key stops throughout the game against a tough regional opponent."
The trap forced six turnovers in the first half as the Javelinas led 28-25 at the half. Diaz came off the bench to give the Hogs two points and five rebounds and
Cris Boleware dished out three assists in his ninth start of the season.
JaMarkus Horace recorded two blocked shots and
Trey Sumpter and Weathers led the team with five points apiece.
With the game tied at 39, Weathers drove to the hoop and connected on the and-one, giving the Javelinas a two-point lead with 13:21 remaining.
Texas A&M-Kingsville trailed by one but
Elliot Taylor drained both free throws with 10:44 left to play as TAMUK regained the lead. A steal by
Marcus Frazier at the 8:27 mark led to a second chance bucket by Jones as the Hogs once again went up a point, 48-47. A layup by Sumpter and jumper by Jones extended Kingsville's lead to five and St. Mary's was able to cut it to three with 5:22 remaining.
Crashing the offensive glass continued to allow the Javelinas to add some cushion as Weathers' jumper at the 2:56 mark made it a 54-49 ballgame. With 55 ticks left, Jones connected on a mid-range jumper for his eighth field goal of the game and a seven-point lead for TAMUK. The Rattlers cut it to five but could not make it a one possession game as the Javelinas took the second game of the series to split the regular season meetings between the two programs.
For the rattlers, four players reached double figures and two registered double-doubles. Yanni Wetzell finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Texas A&M-Kingsville will head to Daytona Beach, Fla. for a two-day tournament. The Javelinas will draw Virginia State on Dec. 19 at 4 p.m. CST.
"Being able to head to a tournament against quality teams will be a good test for us," said Estelle. "It gives us an opportunity to go play tough opponents, beginning with Virginia State."
Live stats and video will be available for and can be accessed by visiting
www.JavelinaAthletics.com, the official home of Javelina athletics.
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