PORTALES, N.M. – Johnnathan Lindsey put up 11 points and eight rebounds and Trey Sumpter racked up 13 points as the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team outfought the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds on their way to a 65-62 overtime win on Thursday afternoon at Greyhound Arena in Portales, N. M.
For Lindsey, this represented a season-high in points and rebounds. Derrick Byrd also hit double digits, scoring 10 points.
The Javelinas outrebounded their opponents, 45-42 and also picked up 37 points from their bench.
FIRST HALF
Buckets by Zach Parker and Trey Sumpter got each team on the board, but the defenses kept the score frozen at 2-2 until after more than six minutes were gone. A free throw and a Nick Brown jumper put the 'Hounds up by three. After a foul shot by Elton Dyer, Maurice Coleman hit a bucket for Eastern and Caelen Neal responded in kind for TAMUK.
The Greyhounds expanded their lead to 10 by going on an 8-0 run which included a trey from Lamarquis Thompson. Two points by each side moved the score to 17-7 before four straight Javelina points brought the visitors to within six.
SECOND HALF
The first basket of the final half came courtesy of a Trey Sumpter layup, but Jamani Pierce drained a triple to up the Greyhounds' lead to 22-15. Layups by Thompson and Pierce followed before Sumpter got the Hogs back on the board with a jump shot. Neal then sliced the Javelina deficit to seven with a layup, but a free throw and a jumper by Thompson put the visitors back behind by double figures.
Two free throws by TAMUK and one by ENMU put the deficit at nine and buckets by Derrick Byrd and Elliot Taylor sliced it five. Brown answered for the hosts with a trey and Jacolby Harris brought the Javs back to within six. After a free throw by Shawn Shelton upped the score to 34-27, Elton Dyer swished the first three-pointer of the game for the Javelinas. Less than a minute later, a jam by Lindsey brought TAMUK to within three and Cris Boleware tied the game with another trey for the Hogs.
The home squad refused to be vanquished easily and they put together an 8-1 burst to take the lead back, but consecutive triples by Neal and Sumpter returned the Hogs to within a point. With 6:46 to play, Lindsey provided the visitors with their first lead of the game, sinking two foul shots. Thompson answered with two of his own from the free throw line, but Cris Boleware switched the lead back to the Hogs with a successful jump shot.
Two foul shots by Eastern and one by TAMUK knotted the score at 47. A jumper by Shelton and a dunk courtesy of Brown gave the Greyhounds a four-point advantage and, after the teams exchanged buckets, they still led by that margin with less than two minutes to play. Kingsville erased that lead thanks to a Sumpter jump shot and two Derrick Byrd free throws, the latter of which came with 37 seconds left in regulation. The last 37 seconds ticked off the clock with the sides still deadlocked at 56, sending the game to overtime.
OVERTIME
Each team scored in the first minute of overtime, but the next five points were scored by Lindsey, who canned one from beyond the arc, then tipped-in a jumper for a 63-58 edge. Free throws allowed ENMU to creep within three and they got as close as two with 11 seconds remaining. One foul shot by West gave the visitors a three-point cushion and a tying three-point attempt by Thompson at the buzzer was off the mark, allowing the Javs to claim their 10th win.
Receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball by following @JavelinaMBB on Twitter and Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports), and subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel.
