KINGSVILLE, Texas – Despite junior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) setting a new season-high with 23 points for the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team, the Javelinas saw their six-game win streak snapped by the A&M-Commerce Lions in an 80-77 defeat on Thursday night at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
Thomas's point total included 18 in the second half. He shot 6-of-12 overall, knocked down a team-high four three-pointers and canned seven of his eight attempts from the free throw line. Junior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas) connected three times from deep on his way to 11 points. Freshman Darius Mickens (Willis, Texas) was also credited with 10 points.
The visitors were the first team to make a run, doing so early in the first after a layup by freshman Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) put the Hogs in front 6-4. A three by Willie Rooks lit the match for the Lions, who proceeded on a 20-5 rally that staked them to a 24-11 lead. Triples by Trey Conrod and Reggie Reid kept the momentum in the Lions' corner before Reid added a three-point play and Donta Terrell capped the run with consecutive treys.
Five straight points by the Hogs were answered by Commerce with six-in-a-row and the Lions had their largest lead of the night at 30-16.
At that point, TAMUK's offense came to life and got the Blue and Gold back in the game. The Javelinas chipped away at the lead to slice it to 11 before Mickens scored six straight points, moving his team within five. A Mouton three-pointer sandwiched between Commerce free throws put the deficit at four before Mickens tossed in another layup, this one just before the halftime buzzer. Over the last seven-and-a-half minutes of the opening period, the Javs outscored their rivals 20-8.
A technical foul against Commerce at halftime allowed the Javelinas to begin the second half at the free throw line and Thomas coolly sank both shots to tie the game, but once again the Lions came out swinging. They immediately ran away to the tune of a 14-4 spurt for a 52-42 lead.
Thomas led the Javelinas back to within two, scoring eight straight points during a stretch that included two threes for the junior. When Terrell hit a layup, upping the deficit to four, Mouton canned another triple and the Hogs were within one.
With 10:15 to play, junior Daniel Severo (Osasco, Brazil) drained two free throws to tie the game, but a Carson Tuttle three allowed Commerce to regain the lead and Rodney Brown added a layup soon after. Four straight points from Thomas brought TAMUK within one, but the visitors came back with a 7-0 run for a 69-61.
The Commerce lead stood at 79-72 with 35 seconds to play before the Javs mounted a last gasp rally. Mouton swished three and after the Lions missed two free throws, sophomore Jamell Bradley (Converse, Texas) hit two from the charity stripe to bring the Javs within. Tuttle hit 1-of-2 from the line with eight seconds left to give the Hogs one last shot tie, but Chauncey Thomas's (Plano, Texas) last second three-point attempt was off the mark as time expired.
The sides were about even shooting-wise from the floor, Commerce shooting 42.1 overall and 40 percent from three compared to TAMUK's 41.7 from the floor and 40.9 percent from beyond the arc. The Lions grabbed five more rebounds than their hosts, 43-38. The teams finished even in turnover, each with 11.
Problems at the free throw line plagued the Javelinas, as they converted 18-of-31 from the charity stripe. The Lions were only slightly better, hitting 22-of-34 from the line.
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