KINGSVILLE, Texas – With just a single game separating them from the final spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball will try and make up ground as they travel to the final two road dates on their schedule. They'll visit the No. 8 West Texas A&M Buffs in Canyon, Texas at the First United Bank Center for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Thursday and then journey to Odessa for 40 minutes against the No. 13 UT Permian Basin Falcons inside UTPB Gym on Saturday at 2 p.m.
A win against either of these clubs will not come easily, as they have combined home record of 25-1. The Buffs, who are 22-2 and 12-2 in conference, enter Thursday carrying a six-game winning streak that includes a 105-86 win over the Falcons on Jan. 30th.
That loss stands as the only blemish against UTPB in their last seven matchups, a stretch that started with a one-point home triumph against No. 10 Texas A&M-Commerce on Jan. 18th. That victory came five days after a one-point loss to Angelo State that broke an 11-game win streak by the Falcons. Both programs are battling for the top spot in the LSC Tournament, which begins March 1st. They currently sport identical, 12-2 records in league games, but UTPB's overall mark of 20-3 puts them slightly behind the pace set by WT.
Each team also can boast a contender for the Lone Star Conference's player of the year award. For the Buffs, that student-athlete is guard David Chavlovich, whose total of 464 points and average of 20.2 points per game stand as the second best in the LSC. In his last two games, Chavlovich topped 20 points each time, including a 26-point performance against UTPB. He's also scored at least 30 points four times, with 40 points serving as his benchmark for this season. It was Chavlovich that ruined TAMUK's upset bid in Kingsville in January, hitting a go-ahead jump shot with three seconds left that provided the difference in a 70-69 heartbreaker that went in WT's favor.
The only player in the LSC standing between Chavlovich and the league's scoring crown is UTPB's Daeshon Francis and his 486 points and average of 21.1ppg. A guard from Indianapolis, Francis is on a run of six games recording at least 20 points and he burned the Buffs for 26 in his team's 19-point loss. His point total in a game has gone as high as 36, a total he reached on Nov. 11th against Adams State, but his most impressive stat line came on Jan. 25th against Western New Mexico. The senior grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out 10 assists and added 22 points for good measure, putting up the second triple-double in school history. The Javelinas held Francis in check when the sides met for the first time this season, but TAMUK had no such success against fellow fourth-year players Josh Morris and James McPherson who contributed 20 and 19 points, respectively.
Trying to hold down both of these players, as well as two of the country's top 11 offenses, will be the nation's 28th ranked scoring defense. UTPB remains the only team to top 75 points against the Javelinas in regulation since December. The Javs have also remained one of the best squads in the NCAA at protecting the rim, as evidenced by an average of 4.8 blocks per game, placing them 14th the nation.
The issues for the Javelinas have come on the offensive end. The Hogs haven't topped 70 points in a regulation game since a December contest against St. Edwards when they put up 85. Trey Sumpter has earned the title of his team's leading scorer, averaging 11.4ppg, but he remains the only player on the roster to reach 20 points in a game this season.
Each game will be followed by a full write-up published on Javelinaathletics.com. You can receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville women's basketball, you can follow @TAMUKWBB on Twitter and Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports) and subscribe to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel.
