KINGSVILLE, Texas – Junior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) and senior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) combined for 33 points and senior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas) corralled a game-high 11 rebounds to spur the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team to a 70-58 triumph over the Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves on Friday night at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
Flowers led all players with 17 points, his second-highest total as a Javelina, while hitting 7-of-14 shots, including a trio of three-pointers. Thomas was just one off his teammate's pace, putting up 16 points and hitting 4-of-10 from beyond the arc while adding three assists, tied for a team-high. In his last three games, Thomas has rung up 51 points and is 12-of-25 on three-point attempts.
Mouton collected nine offensive rebounds, seven more than any other player on this night, and his 11 total boards are the most by a Javelina so far in the 2019-20 season. He also matched Rashon Thomas' total with three assists and scored nine points.
During the first half, the lead changed hands eight times with just as many ties and for much of the period, neither side could gain a lead larger than three points. With under four minutes before the break, three Javelina triples, two from Thomas and one from Flowers, broke a tie and formed a 9-2 run for a 33-26 edge. The ThunderWolves were able get few of those points back, but the Javs still entered the locker room leading, 33-29.
Triples from sophomore Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Flowers helped push the Javelina lead up to eight in the opening minutes of the second half, only for CSU-Pueblo to slice it to two at 42-40 following consecutive treys of their own.
The ThunderWolves had a chance to take the lead on a three by Tyson Gilbert, but the shot missed the mark and sophomore Creighton Avery (Corpus Christi, Texas) went the other way for a three-point play. Junior Jamell Bradley (Converse, Texas) and Avery then each added threes and two Daniel Severo (Osasco, Brazil) free throws polished off an 11-0 run and staked the Hogs to a 53-40 lead.
CSU-Pueblo had one last gasp, shaving their deficit to five, but threes from Thomas and Flowers blunted any attempts at a comeback. Flowers scored TAMUK's final seven points of the night.
On Saturday, the SPEC will play host to more Javelina basketball, with TAMUK battling Texas A&M-Texarkana at 5 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.
