KINGSVILLE, Texas – Nothing slows down for the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team during the Thanksgiving weekend and they'll be hosting pair of teams at the Steinke Physical Education Center for the Emerald Beach Thanksgiving Tournament, which will be held on Friday and Saturday in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javelinas will take the court on Friday against the Colorado State-Pueblo ThunderWolves for a game that will tip-off at 7 p.m. Their fixture on Saturday will start at 5 p.m. against the Texas A&M-Texarkana Eagles. These represent the final non-conference dates on TAMUK's schedule.
The Hogs spent their most recent weekend opening up Lone Star Conference play on the road and they emerged from that challenge with a pair of victories. A last-second free throw by Daniel Severo (Osasco, Brazil) was the difference for the Javelinas in their third one-point win of the season, a 58-57 triumph over Oklahoma Christian. This marked the first time since the 1972-73 season the Javs won three one-point games in a single season. Their second LSC matchup of the year saw TAMUK rally from an 11-point first-half deficit and pound out a 66-61 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith.
The man at the top of the scoresheet for TAMUK in both of these games was senior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas). He poured in 16 points against OC, then lit up the UAFS defense for 19, including the go-ahead three with under a minute to play. Through five games, he's hit at least once from beyond the arc in every contest and is shooting 44.4 percent on three-point attempts on the season. His 11.8 points per game are also a team-high.
"Rashon is a very unselfish young man," said coach Johnny Estelle. "He's a win-first guy. He wants to do what's best for the program. He can impact the game on offense and defense or if he starts or doesn't start. A lot of players get wrapped up in how many minutes they're playing and if they're starting or not. He brings value no matter when he comes in the game and what his role is."
Thomas and his teammates will be trying to outscore a CSU-Pueblo offense that has six players averaging in double figures in points per game. Their leader in that statistic is guard Brandon McGhee at 15.3. The senior from Oakland, Calif. has seen his point total increase in each of the ThunderWolves' four games, capped off by a 21-point performance against Sioux Falls on Saturday. McGhee's ability as a scorer is complimented by his talent as a facilitator. He started the season by handing out seven assists in a win over TAMUK's conference rival, Cameron, and his 16 dimes are the most on Pueblo's roster.
The ThunderWolves arrive in Kingsville with a 2-2 record, defeating a pair of teams from the LSC to start the season before losses to Northern State and Sioux Falls put them at .500. Texas A&M-Texarkana has been considerably busier during the season's first month. The Eagles have already played nine games and are looking to improve upon a 3-6 record. They will play game No. 10 on Wednesday, when they'll also be looking to snap a two-game skid.
The TAMUT men's basketball program is in its first year of existence and picked up its first win on Nov. 2nd over Champion Christian. The man tasked with building this team from the ground up is Ryan Wall. Wall put together an impressive list of accomplishments during his time at Our Lady of the Lake, where he crafted a 109-42 record while guiding their men's basketball team and led the Saints to the Elite Eight twice in the NAIA National Basketball Tournament. Four of Wall's pupils at OLLU went on to be named All-Americans.
For complete coverage of both of TAMUK's games during this tournament, including live video and live stats, visit Javelinaathletics.com. 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.
