KINGSVILLE, Texas – Derrick Byrd provided a season-high 19 points, including two free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, but the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team was handed its fifth straight loss by the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions, 86-78, on Saturday night at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
The teams played even basketball through the first 10 minutes, with the Javelinas taking an early 5-2 lead on a Trey Sumpter three-pointer, but Commerce moved in front less than a minute later thanks to a trey from Aaron Horne. TAMUK tied the game at 7-7, only to see the Lions get consecutive triples from Willie Rooks and Corian Armstong. Caelan Neal battled back with a three of his own.
After each side connected twice from inside the arc, a free throw from Jacolby Harris drew the Hogs within two and Kingsville cut its deficit to one at 20-19 with 9:27 to play before the half. The Lions however, owned the rest of the period, starting with an 11-0 run that included six free throws and a trey by Horne.
The Javs scored the last five points of the half to bring the home side within 36-28, but TAMUC started the second half with five consecutive point of their own to go up by 13. A free throw and buckets by Johnnathan Lindsey, Christian Bambrook and Caelan Neal sliced the Commerce lead to six and TAMUK got within four at 44-40 with the clock reading 14:18. After one foul shot by Trey Conrad, a four-point play by Lindsey put the Javs one point behind and Byrd moved them ahead 41 second later with two from the charity stripe, completing an 18-4 stretch in favor of the Javelinas.
The sides traded the lead once before an 8-0 rally by the visitors made the score 57-48, but the Hoggies wouldn't be thwarted so easily. They piled up nine straight points to knot the score and then re-tied the game twice before Conrod canned a three. The schools tacked on four points each, until, with 14 seconds left, Will West hit a layup and the Javelinas were down by one again. Reggie Reid proceeded to hit one-of-two free throws to make the deficit two, but Byrd drew a foul on the ensuing play and his free throws tied the score at 69.
Conrod started the scoring in the extra period with a trey, but TAMUK fought back to take the lead at 75-74 on two Sumpter foul shots with 2:43 left. The response from Commerce came in the form of a Reggie Reid three-point-play, the start of an 8-1 burst, allowing the Lions to grab a six-point advantage and they rode that momentum to victory.
Canyon, Texas is the next stop for coach Johnny Estelle's team for a meeting with West Texas A&M at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. 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.
