KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team is off to a 2-0 start and the Javelinas will be attempting to take that momentum on the road with them as they make a trip to Nampa, Idaho to take on the Central Washington Wildcats and the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks.
TAMUK will face off with CWU on Friday at 5 p.m. followed by a 9 p.m. matchup against the Nighthawks on Saturday with both games being held inside the Johnson Sports Center. The Javs have played these teams a combined one time entering Friday, with a 2014 victory over NNU representing the lone meeting with either program.
This bit of early momentum for the Blue and Gold was built off a pair of one-point home wins during the Lone Star Conference-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Challenge. The Javelinas began the 2019-20 season by capturing a 70-69 nail-biter over the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers, then held off the Chadron State Eagles 67-66 for triumph No. 2. In each instance, the Hogs trailed by double figures before coming back to win and this was the first time since the 1972-73 season the Javelinas have won consecutive games by one point.
Junior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) was the top man on the scoresheet for the Javelinas against the Hardrockers, registering 21 points, including a three-pointer and the go-ahead, three-point play as his team erased a seven-point deficit in the final two minutes. One day later, Senior Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas) tallied 14 points and senior Daniel Severo (Osasco, Brazil) collected 11 with six rebounds as the Javs slipped past the Eagles.
In their two wins, the Javelinas forced a combined total of 50 turnovers, including 33 against CSC, their highest total in the Johnny Estelle era. Their 18 steals were led by junior Sammy Brooks (Dallas, Texas), who recorded five.
After being picked sixth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, Central Washington has started the season with a win and a loss, but they also picked up an exhibition victory over Division I Idaho on Oct. 22nd. They opened their regular season with a win over Cal State Monterey Bay, then were downed by Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday.
Senior guard Davon Bolton scored 20 points in his team's upset of the Vandals, but a different fourth-year player has excelled in his team's first two games. Jeryn Lucas helped lead the Wildcats to their first win by logging 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting. One day later, he put up 18 against CSSB and through two games, Lucas is shooting 65.2 percent from the field and has hit 7-of-11 from three-point range. Dating back to last season, Lucas has scored at least 18 points in his last six games.
After splitting a pair of exhibitions, the Nighthawks didn't take the court for a game that counted until Tuesday, when they picked up a 66-57 win over the College of Idaho. They'll be looking to continue a stretch of three years of excellent play on their home court. NNU owns a 28-11 mark at the Johnson Sports Center since the start of the 2016-17 season, which includes a 10-2 mark a season ago.
Northwest Nazarene will have to compensate for the loss of two all-conferences performers and will need to do so if they hope to surpass their preseason placement of seventh in the GNAC poll. One of the players the Javelinas will have to be prepared to face is guard Jayden Bezzant. The senior from New Zealand was named to the conference's preseason honorable mention team after averaging better than 13 points per game as a junior. Freshman Jaylen Fox was team's most lethal presence against the College of Idaho. He racked up a game-high 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor in his first collegiate action.
Visit Javelinaathletics.com for links to live video, live stats and a recap after the final buzzer. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. To stay up-to-date with TAMUK men's basketball all year long, follow @JavelinaMBB on Twitter, @Javelinasports on Instagram, like Javelina Men's Basketball on Facebook and subscribe to the Javelina Athletics YouTube.
