KINGSVILLE, Texas (Men's Basketball) – Texas A&M University-Kingsville (6-2) begins the holiday break with a thrilling 74-71 victory over St. Edward's University (8-5) on Saturday night at the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center-Kingsville Hampton Inn Court.

The Javelinas overcame the Hilltoppers second half comeback to up their record to 6-2. Marcus Frazier led four TAMUK players in double-digit scoring with a career-high 17 points, including 11 in the first half. Trey Sumpter and Caelan Neal each scored 14 points, while Elliot Taylor notched his first career double-double with ten points, a game-high of ten rebounds and added two blocks.  

"To the fans, when you are scheduling, you hate to schedule home games around thanksgiving and after finals," said head coach Johnny Estelle. "I truly appreciate these fans. They really propel you to the next level and they do a great job inspiring our kids. Javelina Nation my hat is off to you and keep coming back."

TEAM LEADERS

Texas A&M-Kingsville
Points: Marcus Frazier, 17
Rebounds: Elliot Taylor, 10
Assists: Two Players with two assists
Steals: Marcus Frazier, 3
Blocks: Two Players with two blocks
 

St. Edward's
Points: Ramir Burton, 21
Rebounds: Two players with six rebounds
Assists: Ramir Burton, 5
Steals: Sean Watkins, 3
Blocks: Cory McKendree, 1

1st Half
Both teams battled hard to gain ground to began the game. With the score tied at 21, Marcus Frazier scored the Javs next six points to help the team take a 27-23 lead with 6:43 remaining in the half. The Hogs outscored the Hilltoppers 8-2 to end the frame and entered the locker room with a 40-33 advantage. Frazier paced all scorers in the first half with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in 11 minutes. The home team won the battle on the boards 22-15 led by Elliot Taylor and Justin Jones who both gathered four rebounds to conclude the half.

2nd Half
The Javelinas started the second half with a strong 7-3 run and held the largest lead of the night—11 points—at the 17:19 mark. However, the Hogs went cold missing their next six attempts and the Hilltoppers capitalized by scoring 11 straight points to tie the game at 47. Moments later, SEU possessed its first lead since 8:50 in the first half, 55-54. With time working against the Blue and Gold as they trailed 61-60, Elliot Taylor went on a 6-0 run to recapture the lead for TAMUK, but was countered by SEU's James Taylor who scored two consecutive buckets including a nice kiss off the glass to take a late 69-66 lead with just over two minutes left to play. Trey Sumpter then hits a corner pocket triple—his only of the evening— to tie the game and on the next possession, scored in the paint to give the Hoggies a 71-69 lead with 37 tics left. The Hilltoppers drew up a play but was denied by Duan Wright's clutch block. The Louisiana native then knocked down two free throws on the other end to essentially seal the win. Texas A&M-Kingsville closed out the game with a defensive deflection from Fraizer and time expired with the Hogs ahead 74-71. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Javlinas are 6-2 for the 12th time in program history.
• The Hogs outscored the Hilltopers on the bench 27-16 and out rebounded them 43-30.
• SEU dominated the paint and outscored TAMUK 42-28 and outscored the home team 38-34 in the second half.
• The Javs forced the well mannered Hilltoppers into 17 turnovers. SEU entered the game averaging 10 turnovers per game.
• The Hogs shot 39.7% from the floor while the Hilltoppers shot 45.6% from the floor.
• Elliot Taylor recorded the first Javelina double-double of the 2016-17 season.
• All five of Sumpters rebounds were on the defensive glass. Justin Jones also had five rebounds and had a team-best four offensive rebounds.
• Taylor and Wright led the team with two blocks.

Estelle's Corner

When asked about:

…initial thoughts about the game.…

"It was a great game. St. Edward's did a good job. They run a lot of good stuff that is hard to guard but our guys did a good job responding. We didn't play pretty, we didn't execute all the time, but we did enough to win."

…how he addressed the team during St. Edward's comeback.…

"We just had to stay the course and keep on keeping on. I gave an army analogy during pregame saying you don't want anyone to capture your flag. When they capture your flag you are defeated, you have to surrender. Well they kept the flag tonight. St. Edward's tried to take it, but we did a good job of taking it back. It may be a weird analogy, but the kids fought hard."

…individual efforts.…

"It really was a team win. Trey was off tonight but Marcus stepped up. He makes instinctive plays when we need them. Duan didn't have a great game but he got some big rebounds at the end. Elliot Taylor did a great job. He did good things inside and grabbed key rebounds. It's not just one guy and I push that on these guys. We are one team, one family. Our best basketball is still in front of us and I am alright with that."
 

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Texas A&M-Kingsville 74, St. Edward's 71
Records: Texas A&M-Kingsville (6-2), St. Edward's (8-5)
Series: Texas A&M-Kingsville are 44-32 against St. Edward's
Location: The SPEC Kingsville, Texas
Time of Game: 7 p.m.

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