ALLEN, Texas (Men's Basketball) – Texas A&M University-Kingsville's (18-11) Lone Star Conference Championship run came to an end after suffering a loss to Angelo State University (17-11) 74-60 on Saturday afternoon at the Allen Event Center. 

The Javelinas are knocked out of the conference tournament by the Rams for the third consecutive season with this year having a LSC finals appearance on the line. TAMUK's hot shooting from a day ago did not transfer over to the semi-finals against ASU. Texas A&M-Kingsville only led in the first 30 seconds of the game and although making a push towards the end, the Javelinas could not piece together a rally as they shot 38 percent from the floor including 7-of-27 from downtown and only ten free throw attempts in the game.

Duan Wright led the team in scoring with 15 points and four steals. Senior Marcus Frazier was the only other player in double figures after tallying 13 points, followed by nine points from Caelan Neal and eight points from Trey Sumpter albeit all in the first half.  

All hope is not loss for the No. 9 regional ranked Javelinas however. Knocking off RV West Texas A&M and a Cameron loss (eighth in South Central Region) in the first round of the LSC tournament may be just enough to lift the Blue and Gold to the eighth spot in the region. When asked about the opportunity to play in the NCAA Regional Tournament, head coach Johnny Estelle said, "I stand by my guys and would take them anywhere. We have defeated some top programs this season and I believe we have represented what quality Division II basketball is. I know we would represent this conference as well as the Javelina Nation proudly. We deserve to be in postseason play." 

TEAM LEADERS

Texas A&M-Kingsville
Points: Duan Wright, 15
Rebounds: Elliot Taylor, 9
Assists: Three players with three assists
Steals: Duan Wright, 4
Blocks: Two players with two blocks
 

Angelo State
Points: Thomas Tshikaya, 17
Rebounds: Prince Foster, 7
Assists: Prince Foster, 4
Steals: Two players with two steals
Blocks: Two players with two blocks

1st Half
Angelo State jumped out to an early 9-5 lead by the first media timeout and held A&M-Kingsville to just two field goals on nine attempts as they stretched the lead to 13-5 minutes into the game. The Javelinas chipped away at the lead though, thanks to a three-point play from Derrick Byrd to stop TAMUK's drought that lasted over two minutes. Moments later, Will West connected on a shot from the perimeter to trim the lead 16-13 before the Rams went on a 5-0 run for a 21-13 lead with 10:15 to go in the opening half.

Despite having good looks, shots just would not fall in the first half as Kingsville went 1-of-8 with no scoring in over five minutes. Conversely, Angelo State  computed a 9-0 run to cushion a 30-15 lead with 4:42 remaining before intermission. The Hogs cut the lead down as low as ten from that point, but went into the locker room behind 42-27. 

Sumpter had eight points in the half followed by Wright's six. The Javs shot 37 percent from the floor but only had five free throw attempts in comparison to the Rams 12, missing just one freebee. 

2nd Half
The Rams led by as much as 19 in the second half, but the Hogs continued to scrap and was sparked by a 7-0 run with 17:06 to go. Deep in the half, the Javelinas searched for an opening to get back into the game and reeled off seven straight points in the midst of a 12-2 run to slice the lead to single digits, 61-53, at the 4:47 juncture behind a big triple from Frazier. Unfortunately, Tshikaya provided the dagger three-pointer with 4:08 left to play, in the middle of an 8-0 run by the Rams. ASU went on to defeat TAMUK 74-60 and will play in the LSC Tournament Championship as the No.7 seed.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Texas A&M-Kingsville 60, Angelo State 74
Records: Texas A&M-Kingsville (18-11), Angelo State (17-11)
Series: Texas A&M-Kingsville are 53-55 against Angelo State
Location: The Allen Event Center Allen, Texas
Time of Game: 2:30 p.m.

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