KINGSVILLE, Texas (Men's Basketball) – With one half of the season down, Texas A&M University-Kingsville (11-7, 4-5 LSC) is beginning to see its hard work manifest itself after knocking off RV Angelo State University (12-5, 4-5 LSC) 67-53 on Tuesday night at the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center.

While ending the six-game losing streak in this historical series, the Javelinas pick up their first win against the Rams at home since the 2012-13 season, which happens to be the same season the Javs won three straight conference games—until now. Although the Hoggies had four players score in double-figures and outscored the Rams bench 24-8, TAMUK stayed true to its real identity which is defending. The Hogs forced a season-high 26 turnovers with nearly half of them coming by way of steals. The home team picked ASU's pocket 12 times which also serves as a new season-best.

Another key element in the victory was how the Blue and Gold won the battle on the glass. "I tell my team all the time that being a big person doesn't make you a rebounder," said by head coach Johnny Estelle. "It's effort!"  Obviously the message is sinking in for the players because not only did they out hustled Angelo State on the boards 35-31, but 19 of their rebounds came from the guards! 

Trey Sumpter paced the Hogs as he had team-highs of 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four steals. He was trailed closely by Caelan Neal, Robert Stevenson and Derrick Byrd who recorded 12, 11, and ten points, respectively. Byrd also registered a game-high of four assists. 

Angelo State led for a total of 16 seconds before the Hogs grabbed a 4-2 lead that later expanded to 24-11 at the 3:51 mark to match the longest lead of the first half. The Javelinas ended the half with a 26-14 lead but the Rams thew everything but the kitchen sink at them in the second half. The Hogs barely outscored the Rams in the next 20 minutes (41-39) but their lockdown defense jammed Angelo State's shooters as they shot 2-of-12 from beyond-the-arc and 4-of-21 throughout the entire contest. Angelo State entered the game as the best three-point shooting team in the Lone Star Conference. As Kingsville was suffocating its opponents defensively, they played efficient basketball on the other end with a .480 clip from the field and shot 40% from downtown in the second half. As the game came to a close, The Rams hoped that the Javelinas would choke it away at the charity stripe. However, that was not the case as the Hogs shot 15-of-19 in the final stanza to seal the game. 

"We've been close," said coach Estelle. "We lost a lot of heartbreakers to these guys over the last two years. But it feels good to beat a well coached team like Angelo State. This was a big and important win for our program.

TEAM LEADERS

Texas A&M-Kingsville
Points: Trey Sumpter, 13
Rebounds: Trey Sumpter, 7
Assists: Derrick Byrd, 4
Steals: Trey Sumpter, 4
Blocks: Two players with one block

Angelo State
Points: Two players with 16 points
Rebounds: Thomas Tshikaya, 10
Assists: Napoleon Onyeje, 2
Steals: Devonte' Pratt, 2
Blocks: Two players with two blocks

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Javelinas will end the regular season with a perfect 5-0 record in Tuesday games.
• At home, the Hogs are 7-0 when leading at halftime and have yet to lose a game this season when holding their opponents under 60 points (6-0).
• Angelo State's 53 points matches a season-low for opponents against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
• The Hogs largest lead was in the second half where the Rams trailed by 18 points. 
• TAMUK won the battle on the offensive boards 14-10, leading to 19 second chance points.
• TAMUK also outscored ASU in the paint 24-18.

Estelle's Corner

When asked about:

…their lock down defense.…

"If we are going to pride ourselves on anything, it will be defense. When kids begin to understand how vitally important defense is, that is when wins and championships come. The conference tournament is on the road and out of all the phases of the game, defense travels."

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Texas A&M-Kingsville 67, Angelo State 53
Records: Texas A&M-Kingsville (11-7, 4-5 LSC), Angelo State (12-5, 4-5 LSC)
Series: Texas A&M-Kingsville are 52-54 against Angelo State
Location: The SPEC Kingsville, Texas
Time of Game: 7:30 p.m.

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