KINGSVILLE, Texas – On senior day at the Steinke Physical Education Center, Caelan Neal put up 13 points and Derrick Byrd contributed 11, but the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team came up just short against the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds on Saturday night, 58-56, in Kingsville, Texas.
This defeat leaves the Javelinas one game short of the final spot in the Lone Star Conference Tournament at 12-16 and 5-13.
The last act in the final, heartbreaking chapter of TAMUK's season started with 5:25 on the clock, when Lamarquis Thompson hit a jumper to tie the game at 48. Just under a minute later, Jamani Pierce canned a three and he added another triple at the 3:37 mark. The response came from Byrd, who answered with two treys of his own and the teams were back even again with 2:02 remaining. The senior point guard came up clutch again with 1:19 showing on the scoreboard, tossing in a jumper for a 56-54 edge.
After a timeout by the Greyhounds, Thompson tied the game with a jump shot and drew a foul. While Thompson couldn't convert from the charity stripe, the ensuing rebound went out off TAMUK and out of bounds, giving the visitors another chance. With 27 seconds left, Maurice Coleman swished a jumper for ENMU. The Hogs had one final chance to respond, but a layup attempt by Byrd missed the mark and sealed Kingsville's fate.
Eastern New Mexico got on the board first with a jumper by Shawn Shelton, but a triple by Caelan Neal sparked an 8-2 rally by TAMUK that included a three-point play by Jacolby Harris. The Greyhounds jumped back ahead when Nick Brown hit a three and Andre Hughes and Devin Pullum added layups, but Kingsville responded with 10 straight points. Jumpers by Byrd, Harris and Lindsey started the run and a three-point play by Neal finished it with the score at 18-11. The Grehounds quickly closed to within four thanks to a three-point play by Zack Parker, but the Hoggies stretched their advantage to eight at 24-16, as Lindsey hit a layup and Elliot Taylor converted two foul shots.
With 3:51 to play in the first half, Eastern New Mexico took advantage of several Javelina fouls to go on a 14-2 run. Coleman started the burst with four straight foul shots, Pullum followed with a three soon after and four more points came from Shelton, putting the visitors ahead 32-28 and they'd hold a two-point lead at the half.
The second half began with Thompson and Will West exchanging threes. After ENMU went up by four, triples by Trey Sumpter and Caelan Neal combined with a Hughes jumper put the score at 39-39. The teams would continue this back-and-forth play into the final five minutes.
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