CANYON, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville football program held a 10-point lead over West Texas A&M on Saturday at Kimbrough Memorial Stadium in the final road contest of 2018, but couldn't hold on for the win as the hosts came away with a 35-31 decision in the Lone Star Conference mathcup.

The Javelinas (3-7, 1-6 LSC) fell behind at 28-24 late in the third against the Buffaloes (6-4, 4-3 LSC) before regaining the lead at 31-28, but a long run with 1:28 to play in the fourth became the straw that broke the camel's back as WT came away with the win.

The Buffs struck first early in the opening quarter when Brandon Blair broke off a 58-yard run at the 12:21 mark. Senior kicker Julio De La Garza (Brownsville, Texas) kept the Hogs close as he converted attempts from 20 and 41 yards to set the line score at 7-6 early in the second frame.

Marshawn Brown added to WT's total with a 65-yard rushing score with 4:26 remaining in the half before the Javelinas were able to tie the contest with 10 seconds on the clock.

Junior transfer Koy Detmer Jr. (Somerset, Texas) dumped a pass off to senior running back Jeff Carr (Temple, Texas) deep in the red zone and the Oklahoma State transfer juked his way to an eight-yard touchdown.

Detmer Jr. converted the two-point attempt on short route to junior Brent Hertel (Cypress, Texas) to even the count at 14 apiece heading into the locker rooms.

De La Garza kept up the pace for the Blue and Gold to start the second half as he converted a 27-yard field goal on the opening drive. It was the first time this year De La Garza converted three field goals in the game, only the third time he's done so in his storied career for TAMUK.

The first time the Brownsville, Texas, native hit three field goals was in a narrow 32-30 loss to MSU Texas on Sept. 17, 2016, and he repeated the feat the very next week in a 38-36 loss to A&M-Commerce.

On the other side of the ball, the Javelina defense held the Buffs to consecutive three-and-outs to begin the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Hogs were able to pad their lead as Detmer Jr. connected with redshirt-junior Aaron Dilworth (Corpus Christi, Texas) for three yards at the 8:07 mark for a 24-14 cushion.

Fortune turned quickly on TAMUK as Justin Houghtaling hit Semaj Mitchell in stride for 78 yards at the 2:58 mark of the third, before a fumble on the ensuing Blue and Gold drive gave possession back to WT that resulted in a seven-yard rushing score from Blair to put the hosts back ahead at 28-24.

Detmer Jr. made another connection with Dilworth for 25 yards early in the fourth to get the Hogs back on top of the Buffs at 31-28 before a sack from junior Caleb Valentine (Fulshear, Texas) put a stop to the ensuing WT drive.

Unfortunately the Javelinas let the lead slip away when Blair ran away with his third touchdown of the game for 78 yards with 1:28 on the clock for a 35-31 lead. The ensuing Blue and Gold possession lasted one play before Kevon Thomas intercepted Detmer Jr. at the TAMUK 47 with 1:14 remaining.

The Hogs had one final chance but the WT defense put a stop to the last play of the game to keep the visitors on the backend of the decision.

Detmer Jr. finished with 314 passing yards on 28 completions to go with three touchdowns. Dilworth caught 11 passes for 119 yards and two scores to spearhead the receiving corps, while junior Tyler Wilson (Bay City, Texas) ended with a career-best 154 receiving yards on nine catches.

Senior Nick Pelrean (Houston, Texas) led the way on the ground with 74 yards on 13 carries.

The Hogs had two sacks and seven tackles for loss as a team with Valentine picking up one sack. Senior Brandon Jones (Houston, Texas) added a sack of his own to go with two tackles for loss, while redshirt-sophomore Tre'Michael Tutt (Channelview, Texas) led the defensive unit with eight solo tackles, two for loss.

The Javelinas will return to Pepsi Field at Javelina Stadium for one final time in 2018 as they host UT Permian Basin on November 10, with kickoff at 7 p.m. CT. The contest is part of Military Appreciation week at TAMUK and the senior class of the football program will be honored as well at the game.

To keep up-to-date with Javelina football, follow the program on Facebook at /JavelinaFootball and on Twitter @JavelinaFB

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