KINGSVILLE, Texas (Men's Basketball) – Texas A&M University-Kingsville (10-7, 3-5 LSC) rolled over Western New Mexico University (2-15, 0-9 LSC) for its tenth victory of the season inside of the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center on Saturday afternoon.

The win gives Kingsville its tenth of the season and matches their longest home winning streak of three games. 

The Hoggies held the struggling Mustangs to a .320 clip—the lowest of any opponent this season—on just 16 made field goals, while tying a game-high this season of nine blocks. The Javelinas led wire-to-wire on 50% shooting on the floor and 43% from three-point range. Justin Jones led a trio of double-digit scores with a season-high 16 points. Jones shot 6-of-10 from the floor include 4-of-5 from beyond-the-arc. Caelan Neal was next with 13 points followed by Derrick Byrd's 11 points and three assists. Will West turned in his best performance of the year with eight points and led the club with four dimes. Trey Sumpter and Duan Wright each tallied seven points with Wright tying Elliot Taylor with three blocks.

TEAM LEADERS

Texas A&M-Kingsville
Points: Justin Jones, 16
Rebounds: Two players with six rebounds
Assists: Will West, 4
Steals: Thomas Diaz, 3
Blocks: Two players with three blocks

Western New Mexico
Points: Willie McCray, 13
Rebounds: Jordan Enriquez, 5
Assists: Two players with two assists
Steals: Three players with two steals
Blocks: Jordan Enriquez, 1

1st Half
The Javelinas opened the game with an 11-6 lead that continued to grow after the home team knocked down back-to-back triples from Neal and Jones for a 21-11 advantage with 8:26 on the clock. TAMUK continued to roll in the quarter and led Western New Mexico by as much as 21 points. WNMU had no answer for TAMUK in the first stanza as they trailed 42-23 at the half. The Hogs shot 60% from the floor and 50% from three-point range while holding their opponent to 19 and 11% shooting, respectively. Neal, Byrd and Jones led all scorers with eight points each while Sumpter followed with seven points.

2nd Half
Western New Mexico went on a couple of frivolous runs, but Texas A&M-Kingsville was dominant in the second half as they kept a 15-point margin or greater against the visitors. Jones continued his streaky shooting with two triples in the half to push his total to 16 points. Defensively, the Hogs forced the Mustangs into 15 turnovers and capitalized on them for 18 points in the 77-58 thrashing. 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Marks largest victory margin of season (was 18 vs. St. Mary's- 12/13/16).
• The Javelinas match their longest home win streak of the season.
• The Hogs made 30 field goals which is a new season-high.
• TAMUK held its opponent to a .320 clip which is a new season-low for opponents.
• Hogs tied their season-best of nine blocks.
• Jones has made a three-pointer in 11 consecutive games.
• Elliot Taylor's three blocks ties his career-high.

Estelle's Corner

When asked about:

…initial thoughts.…

"It was a good team effort. We had a few key guys really step up for us today, but it was really a team contribution. If you want to win the tournament you're going to have to have a good bench and this was a game where we were able to play a lot of our guys and get that productivity."

…key players contributing to the 39 bench points.…

"Robert Christian came back after a month and Will West was out the first semester so it is nice to see them back. Justin Jones has been playing well and Christian Bambrook did a good job for us. It was nice to get them out there so that whenever they are called on late in the season, it is not something new to them."

…the next two games against Angelo State.…

"Angelo State is a well coached team and they have a lot of talent to go along with a good scheme. We are going to have to come out here and make them play and defend those guys. If we play the way we need to play it'll be a good ballgame."

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Texas A&M-Kingsville 77, Western New Mexico 58
Records: Texas A&M-Kingsville (10-7, 3-5 LSC), Western New Mexico (2-15, 0-9 LSC)
Series: Texas A&M-Kingsville are 1-0 against Western New Mexico
Location: The SPEC Kingsville, Texas
Time of Game: 2 p.m.

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