KINGSVILLE, Texas – With two games remaining on their 2017-18 schedule, the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team will be fighting for a postseason berth while also taking the time to honor their senior class as they host the Western New Mexico Mustangs on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javelinas currently sit one game behind Eastern New Mexico for the eighth and final spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, but, thanks to their meeting with the Greyhounds in the season finale, the Hogs still control their own destiny. Since the Hoggies bested the 'Hounds in Portales on Jan. 18th, if Johnny Estelle's club wins its last two games and the teams end up with the same conference record, TAMUK would own the head-to-head tiebreaker and secure a spot in postseason play.
The roster of seniors who will be honored on prior to Saturday's home finale includes Christian Bambrook, Caelan Neal, Trey Sumpter, Will West, Derrick Byrd, Cris Boleware and Elliot Taylor.
Bambrook arrived prior to the start of the 2016-17 season, a transfer from Hill College and was immediately inserted in the rotation. He has moved into the role of a starter as a senior, making 23 appearances in the lineup. He's totaled 22 blocks this season, the second-most on the squad and he'll be looking to put up 23 points over TAMUK's remaining games, a total that would allow him to reach 200 for his career.
Neal also joined the program before last season and has played in 56 games in the Blue and Gold, starting 52. He's been a reliable contributor for coach Estelle, averaging 8.7 points per game and he needs only 13 more to reach 500 for his career. Neal currently stands as his team's second leading scorer and he enters the weekend off his two highest-scoring performances as a Javelina. The Olathe, Kansas native scored a career-high 19 against West Texas A&M on Feb. 15th and followed that up with a 20-point day versus UT Permian Basin on the 17th.
Trey Sumpter came to Kingsville in 2014 from Dawson High School and has been turning in quality minutes ever since. After scoring the second-most points on the team last season, he's become TAMUK's leading scorer in his final campaign with a mark of 11.4 points per game. Last season, he contributed 14 points in the program's first ever NCAA Tournament victory, a 74-71 upset of UTPB. Sumpter can lay claim to 820 points in his career and he's totaled eight games with 20 or more for the Hoggies, with his career-high of 29 coming at the expense of St. Mary's University in 2016 and leading the Javs to a 15-point triumph. His most memorable performance, however, might have come this past November, when Sumpter led his team into the American Bank Center to do battle against the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders. The Alabama native finished with 23, including a triple at the end of regulation that forced overtime, as Kingsville scored an 82-80 upset of their Division I neighbors.
One of Sumpter's teammates over the last four seasons is Will West, an alum of Clear Lake High School. West has played in 102 games since arriving from Houston and needs two more games played to tie for the ninth-most in school history. He's also seven steals from moving into the TAMUK top 10 that category and is tops on the roster in thefts this year with 26. His scoring total stands at 657 with his career-highs in that category coming on consecutive nights a year ago, when he collected 19 points in back-to-back games against UTPB and WNMU.
Derrick Byrd has missed only one game since coming aboard in 2016. Last season, he was Hogs' leader in assists with 89 and, this year, he's seen his scoring average increase from 6.7 to 8.2. Against TAMCC, it was Byrd's nine free throws that helped salt away TAMUK's two-point victory. In February of 2016, the Javelinas welcomed in a West Texas A&M squad that was receiving votes nationally, and Byrd burned the Buffs for a career-high 21 points as the Hogs dispatched WT, 76-59.
After missing all of the 2016-17 campaign, Cris Boleware has returned to form in 2017-18, leading the Javs in assists with 60. Boleware recently cleared 400 points in his Blue and Gold career, which has consisted of 51 games thus far. He's also closing in on 150 career assists. Boleware's career-high in points currently stands at 19, a benchmark he's reached three times. The most recent example came against WT, when the Arlington native nearly led his team to an upset of the No. 8 team in the nation.
Elliot Taylor has battled through adversity in his final ride in the Blue and Gold to appear in 13 games, putting his career total in that category at 88. As a junior, Taylor started every game and his 29 blocks were Kingsville's second-most. He also had three games where he scored in double figures and the Javs won two of them. Taylor signed on the with the program after a career at Thurgood Marshall High School in Houston and enters his final regular season contests as a Javelina with 222 points, 211 rebounds and 51 blocks to his credit.
Western New Mexico arrives in Kingsville with only pride to play for, as they have been eliminated from contention for the LSC Tournament at 5-20 and 2-14. They are coming off their most impressive win of the season, an 86-84 upset of Midwestern State on the Mustangs' senior night. The Javelinas will be trying to repeat their performance from the first time these schools met this year, when TAMUK earned a 17-point win and kept any Mustang player from scoring in double figures. Willie McCray owns the title of top scorer for Western New Mexico, averaging 13.3 points per game and he enters Thursday's row red hot, having scored 24 points in each of his last two games.
Eastern New Mexico first has to deal with Angelo State on Friday before coming to the SPEC. Coach Tres Segler will be trying to pick up the program's first in win Kingsville since 2014, when Andrew Helton was at the helm. One of the players trying to prevent Saturday's affair from being the last game of his career will be senior guard Lamarquis Thompson, the Greyhounds' leading scorer. Junior Zach Parker has also been an important contributor for the squad, scoring 20 points three times, most recently against UT Permian Basin on Jan. 27th.
For full coverage of both games, including video, stats and a postgame recap, visit Javelinaathletics.com. Receive content for Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball by following @JavelinaMBB on Twitter and Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports), and subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel.
