DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Men's Basketball) – Cris Boleware broke out for 19 points, 12 coming from three-point range, but Texas A&M University-Kingsville (7-3) fell to Virginia State University (8-2), 80-55, in day one of the Daytona Mitsubishi/Kia Shootout in the ICI Center on the campus of Embry-Riddle University (7-1).
With the loss, the Javelinas will battle Thomas University (5-7) for the first time ever Sunday at 1 p.m. CT in the consolation game while the Trojans will take on the host Eagles at 3 p.m. CT in the championship game. The Night Hawks fell to ERAU, 116-88, on Saturday.
Boleware finished 4-of-7 from behind-the-arc and added two steals in a season-high performance. Appearing in his first game for the Javelinas was
Robert Stevenson and the 6-7 freshman registered six points, three rebounds and two blocked shots.
DJ Weathers picked up 14 points and three assists in the loss.
On the other side, Elijah Moore finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting and Melvin Gregory swatted away three shots. Off the bench, Cyonte Melvin pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds and Joseph Bradshaw scored 11 points as the Trojan bench outscored the Javelina bench 34-to-13. As a unit, VSU went 10-of-25 from three-point range, running away with the victory in the second half.
The Javelinas never led in the contest and the game was knotted up for just 43 seconds. At halftime, the Hogs trailed 44-36 and Boleware provided much of the offense with 12 points, nine from long distance. Texas A&M-Kingsville went 7-of-30 in the second half and could not overcome a sluggish frame as Virginia State improved to 8-2 on the year.
Scouting the Night HawksA member of the Sun Conference of the NAIA, Thomas University is located in Thomasville, Ga. The Night Hawks are coming off four consecutive regular season losses, including a 90-54 setback at Faulker on Dec. 15. Adonai Rogers is scoring 13.8 points per game and adding 4.8 rebounds per contest. Javoris Cooks is right behind him with 13.4 points per game and Mike Lyons adds 11.9 points. Andrea Robinson and Jamison Williams lead the team in rebounding with 8.7 and 5.4 boards per contest.
Live stats, audio and video will be available for the tournament and can be accessed by visiting
www.JavelinaAthletics.com, the official home of Javelina athletics.
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