NAMPA, Idaho – Despite racing out to a 12-point lead in the opening six minutes against the Central Washington Wildcats, the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team was handed its first loss of the 2019-20 season on Friday night, 83-72, at the Johnson Sports Center in Nampa, Idaho.
Three Javelinas reached double figures in scoring, senior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) leading the way with 14. Junior Sammy Brooks (Dallas, Texas) topped 10 points for the second straight night, finishing with 12, and sophomore Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) ended the night with 11.
Senior Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas) filled up nearly every column, picking up nine points, five steals, three assists and two rebounds. His totals in steals and assists were team-highs. Junior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) led his team on the glass with nine rebounds.
With the score at 4-3 in TAMUK's favor after 95 seconds, the Hogs took control of the game for more than five minutes, shutting out the Wildcats while scoring 11 straight points. Five different players contributed during the run that provided the Blue and Gold with the largest lead either side would enjoy on the night.
Just after the clock ticked under 10 minutes, Xavier Smith started a rally that sliced CWU's deficit to one, scoring seven points on a 9-0 burst to make the score 20-19. With the help of two jumpers by Brooks, the Javs pushed their lead back to five, only to see their opponents tally seven-in-a-row for their first lead, 27-26. The lead changed hands two more times before the half, with CWU scoring 10 of the period's final 12 points to go in front, 39-37, at the break.
The teams exchanged scores twice to start the final half before Chayer drained a three to tie the score at 44. CWU quickly took a two-possession advantage, 49-44 and spent much of the rest of the half holding on to a small lead while trading baskets with their opponents. From the 16:59 mark until 6:04 remained in the game, the Wildcats never led by more than six, but kept the Javelinas from getting closer than three. This period of back-and-forth basketball ended when Matt Poquette sank two free throws to put his team ahead by eight.
The deficit again reached eight for the Hogs with 5:19 on the clock, but that's when they made a push to try and move back in front. Two free throws and a trey courtesy of Rashon Thomas, sandwiched around a Chauncey Thomas bucket put the Javelinas down one. Chauncey Thomas then picked up a steal and had a chance for the go-ahead score, but a missed layup kept the score at 68-67.
The Wildcats and the Javs each added scores to put the teams at 70-69, and later 72-70, but 11 of the night's final 13 points went to CWU to provide the final margin.
The chance to rebound from their first loss of the season comes on Saturday for TAMUK, when they're scheduled to tangle with Northwest Nazarene at 9 p.m. 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.
