KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the first time in the 2018-19 basketball season, the Steinke Physical Education Center will light up for men's basketball as the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team prepares to host the St. Mary's Rattlers on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Kingsville, Texas.
The Hogs completed their first road trip of the year with a 1-1 record after visiting South Dakota Mines and Chadron State as part of the Lone Star Conference/Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Challenge. Their schedule continues with three more non-conference matchups, two of which are at home before LSC play begins.
Coach Johnny Estelle has won all four home openers since taking over the program. That streak contributes to an 8-2 record for the Javs in their last 10 home lidlifters. A year ago, the Javelinas kicked-off their SPEC slate by dumping South Dakota Mines, 71-53, led by an 11-point, nine-rebound performance by then-junior Robert Stevenson (Houston, Texas).
During TAMUK's first two contests, 12 players saw action and all 12 ended up on the scoresheet. Junior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas) put forth the most impressive performance, totaling 16 points in his team's season opening loss to South Dakota Mines. Mouton also grabbed six rebounds against the Hardrockers, one off the game-high, and his nine total boards through two games are only one behind Stevenson for the team lead.
The Javelinas' second time out, they picked up a win over Chadron State, thanks in large part to an offense that shot 47.8 percent from the floor, a mark they reached only three times during the 2017-18 campaign. Estelle saw 11 different Javelinas contribute points during his team's 71-59 victory. Junior Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas) tied for a team-high in points, with nine, and rebounds, with four, while sophomore Jamell Bradley (Converse, Texas) also contributed nine points.
The Rattlers suffered through a difficult 2017-18 campaign, going 7-21 and 3-13 in the Heartland Conference. They've started this season 0-2, but both games have been close losses against teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago. SMU's first defeat was a one-point loss at the hands of No. 19 Regis University, as the Rattlers lost, 86-85, on a last-second layup by the Rangers.
This will mark the sixth straight time these programs have met twice in a season. The teams have split the series on three of those five occasions, including last year, when both schools won on the road. In San Antonio, TAMUK's effort included 12 points from Jacolby Harris (Delray, Fla.) and nine rebounds by Kyren Block (San Antonio, Texas) on the way to a 60-53 victory. When the Rattlers visited Kingsville, Skyler Brooks poured in 18 points and Petar Radojicic put up 16 points as St. Mary's earned a road win, 61-57.
All three of SMU's top three scorers returned for their senior seasons, with Brooks and Radojicic being two of those three returners. Radojicic led the team with an average 13.4 points per game, reaching 20 points four times while adding a pair of double-doubles. After averaging 12.0 points per game as a junior, Skyler Brooks has been in double figures in both of his team's games, including an 18-point night against Regis. Junior Markques Houston, a transfer from Blinn College, started the season by scoring 26 in his Rattler debut.
Fans can visit Javelinaathletics.com for complete coverage of Wednesday's game, including live video and stats and a postgame recap. To stay up-to-date with Javelinas men's basketball all season long, follow @JavelinaMBB on Twitter and @JavelinaSports on Instagram, like JavelinaMBB on Facebook and visit Javelinaathletics.com.
