CANYON, Texas (Men's Basketball) – Texas A&M University-Kingsville (8-7, 1-5 LSC) dropped its fourth consecutive road game at the hands of #15/#12 West Texas A&M University (18-2, 6-1 LSC), 80-65 in on Saturday afternoon in the First United Bank Center.

The scrappy Javelina club fought, but was outdone by the #15 nationally ranked team who improved their home record to 11-0. The Hogs shot 46.7% from three-point range but was severely wounded by their ten first half turnovers. TAMUK cut the lead to as low as nine in the second half but did not have enough in the tank despite a late surge. 

Trey Sumpter returned to form as he eclipsed his first double-double this season with 19 points and a season-high 12 rebounds with 11 of them coming on the defensive glass. Elliot Taylor concluded the double-digit scorers for the visitors as he cashed in a season-best 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. 

TEAM LEADERS

Texas A&M-Kingsville
Points: Trey Sumpter, 19
Rebounds: Trey Sumpter, 12
Assists: Two players with four assists
Steals: Two players with two steals
Blocks: Two players with one block

West Texas A&M
Points: Jerrod Walton, 18
Rebounds: Jordan Evans, 8
Assists: Carl White, 6
Steals: Carl White, 3
Blocks: Carl White, 3

1st Half
Texas A&M-Kingsville started the game 3-of-3 from the floor for an early 7-6 lead. The lead grew 15-10 after Justin Jones knocked down a three-pointer fresh off of the bench. West Texas began to get warm though and went on an 8-2 run to take a 18-17 lead with 10:30 on the clock. Both teams traded baskets over the next four minutes, however the Javelinas struggled late in the half with a three-plus minute scoring drought to help WT pad a 32-24 lead under five minutes remaining in the half. West Texas A&M continued to take advantage of the Hogs by forcing turnovers and ended the half on an 11-3 run thanks to a 14-2 margin from points off of turnovers. The Hogs went into the locker room down 43-30. Sumpter led the team with eight points in the half behind two field goals from downtown, but as a unit, the Javelinas shot 35.7% from the floor compared to 50% from the Buffs.

2nd Half
The Javelinas fought to stay in the game and trailed by ten, 54-44, at the12:45 mark. From that moment, WT went on a commanding 10-2 run to take their largest lead of the game 64-50. A three-pointer by Marcus Frazier cut the lead to nine, but WT responded with a 9-0 run to lead 75-57 with 2:06 left to play. The Buffs went on to win the game 80-65.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Javelinas out rebounded the Hogs 21-18 in the first half.
• WT went 3-of-13 from downtown in the firs half.
• TAMUK has dropped eight consecutive games against WTAMU.
• The Hogs outscored the Buffs overall 31-30 in the paint but was limited on the bench as they were out hustled by a score of 33-21.
• WT squeezed by the Hogs in the second half, 37-35.
• West Texas A&M was 3-of-13 in the first half and 3-of-12 in the second half from beyond the arc.
• Hogs still searching for their first conference road win of the 2016-17 season.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Texas A&M-Kingsville 65, West Texas A&M 80
Records: Texas A&M-Kingsville (8-7, 1-5 LSC), West Texas A&M (18-2, 6-1 LSC)
Series: Texas A&M-Kingsville are 23-47 against West Texas A&M
Location: First United Bank Center Canyon, Texas
Time of Game: 4 p.m.

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