WICHITA FALLS, Texas - Jacolby Harris led the Javelinas with 13 points and Caelan Neal scored 12, but the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team was handed a 66-44 defeat by the Midwestern State Mustangs on Thursday night at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas.
FIRST HALF
With MSU leading 4-3 and 16:30 left on the first half clock, the Mustangs took off on the game's first run. A triple by Brandon Neel jump-started a stretch of 10 straight points for Midwestern State. With the score at 14-3, both teams sank triples and Trey Sumpter connected with a pair of free throws.
The teams traded scores twice before a three-point-play by Harris cut the Javelinas' deficit to six with just over 90 seconds until halftime. Two free throws by Sumpter and one by Logan Hicks closed out the first half scoring with the scoreboard reading Mustangs 22, Javelinas 17.
SECOND HALF
Two Javelina free throws brought the visitors to within two points, but two foul shots by Neel and a jumper by Romello Walker put MSU up by seven. A pair of back-and-forth exchanges upped the score to 30-23 before Neal sliced the Hogs' deficit to four with a triple. DeVante Pullum returned the Mustang lead to seven with his own three-pointer and the squads then traded buckets, remaining seven points apart. A Derrick Byrd jumper was followed by Hicks swishing a triple before a tip-in by Christian Bambrook allowed the Javs to creep within 38-32 as the clock neared 10 minutes.
It was at this point the Mustangs began to pull away. Another Hicks triple and a Pullum layup provided the home team with a double digit cushion that they continued adding to. Their margin reached 18 thanks to 12 straight points. With 4:37 to play, the MSU lead reached 20. Harris provided a late bright spot for the Javelinas with seven points in the final five minutes.
The Hogs have an opportunity to get back on track on Saturday, when they'll be on road playing Cameron at 4 p.m. You can receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball by following @JavelinaMBB on Twitter and Instagram, liking the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports), and subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel.
