ODESSA, Texas (Men's Basketball) – Texas A&M University-Kingsville (8-5, 1-3 LSC) hope to keep the wins rolling in as they face the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (10-4, 2-3 LSC) in UTPB Gym in Odessa, Texas on January 12 at 7:30 p.m., followed by a bout against #15/#12 West Texas A&M University (16-2, 4-1 LSC) inside of the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas Saturday at 4 p.m.
Live stats and stream will be available at javelinaathletics.com for both games and will feature Kevin Piel to call the action.
Texas A&M-Kingsville will move on from the high of knocking off nationally ranked Tarleton State and will now have the opportunity to squander a pair of undefeated home records this week. It has been a tough beginning to the road conference schedule, but the Hogs defense prevails in the league. They are ranked 19th in Division II in field goal percentage defense (39.5%) and 10th in the NCAA in holding opponents to a league-low .293 clip from beyond-the-arc. TAMUK has a slight 4.3 scoring margin as they average 70.9 PPG on 41% shooting from the floor.
Albeit struggling in the last few games, Trey Sumpter paces the club with 13.4 points per game and has 18 steals this season— three behind team leader Marcus Frazier who chips in 7.8 PPG. Duan Wright has been a dominant factor offensively over the last couple of games and has a scoring average of 11.3 points, while leading the team with 5.4 boards per game. Caelan Neal rounds out the top scorers with 10.2 PPG and has 29 assists, 16 steals and five blocks this season. Derrick Byrd has a team-high of 38 helpers and Robert Stevenson leads with 17 total blocks.
UT Permian Basin is first on the docket as they put their perfect 5-0 record at home on the line. After beginning LSC play 2-0, the Falcons have dropped their last three matches against then ranked #22 West Texas A&M, Cameron and most recently Midwestern State. The last time they touched the floor, UTPB outscored MSU 45-33 in the first half, but was trumped 47-28 in the second half, giving MSU an 80-73 win. The Falcons score a league-best 93 PPG which also ranks eighth in Division II basketball. They do most of their damage from three-point territory where they make 10.1 threes per game, which also leads the LSC.
Daeshon Francis leads the club with 19.1 points per game, 41 assists and 24 steals. Francis leads all guards in the league with a .603 clip from the field. Three more players score in double-digits in Johnnie Lacy (17.3 PPG), James McPherson (13.6 PPG) and Josh Morris (10.6 PPG). Morris leads the team with 11 blocks and McPherson leads the LSC at the stripe, shooting 41.5%.
These clubs have met four times with the record in favor of UTPB 3-1. The Javelinas lone win against the Falcons was in last year's Emerald Beach Hotel Javelina Classic to open the season. Hogs won 79-77 in overtime.
TAMUK will head north following the Thursday night game to play against #15/#12 West Texas A&M who is currently 9-0 at home this season. The Buffs is one of three teams with a a single loss in conference play. Midwestern State ended WT's ten-game winning streak (84-78) but they bounced back quickly after topping Cameron 100-98 in a historic 4 overtime game. As a unit, the Buffs score 89.8 points per contest and leads the conference with 267 total assists, 67 total blocks and also leads Division II basketball with 719 total rebounds.
WT is led by LSC Preseason Player of the Year, David Chavlovich who leads the Lone Star Conference with 20.6 PPG and 80 total assists. He also leads the team with 28 steals and pulls down 4.6 rebounds per game. Jordan Evans follows with 13.3 PPG to round out the double-figure scorers. Carl White sits just outside of the group with 9.9 PPG and Ryan Quaid leads the team with 5.3 rebounds per game while adding 7.7 PPG.
West Texas A&M leads the all-time series 46-23. The Buffs will face #17/#24 Angelo State before the Hogs enter the First United Bank Center on Saturday.
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