KINGSVILLE, Texas – Senior Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas) tossed in a team-high 14 points and fellow senior Daniel Severo (Osasco, Brazil) added 11 with six rebounds and the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team hung on for a 67-66 victory over the Chadron State Eagles on Saturday night at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
This marks the fourth time in the last five seasons the Javelinas have started the year 2-0.
"[Coach Estelle] trusted me to lead these guys," said assistant coach Omar Gonzalez, who assumed the head coaching duties with coach Johnny Estelle away. "I reminded these guys that this is not my team, it's our team, as coach Estelle always says. Our goal was to come out as a team and win. I thought these guys responded and battled and listened and were playing for coach and for each other and for the Javelina Nation."
For Thomas, his 14 points are his highest total in his last 16 games, since he also had 14 against Western New Mexico on Jan. 17th. Severo's 11 points matched a career-high and his six rebounds were one off the team-high, which junior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) set with seven boards.
"Everybody was telling me to be more aggressive today," said Thomas, "and they trusted me. I went in there with the attitude that I'll be aggressive every time. If me and Creighton [Avery] are aggressive, that opens everything up for everyone else."
The Eagles scored the first four points in the first half and never trailed during the opening 20 minutes. Their lead reached 11 points after a layup from Jacob Jefferson with 7:04 on the clock, but that's as large as it would get. The Javs notched the next seven points, including a triple from senior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) and eventually pushed their run to 13-4 after McClellan swished a jumper. The Eagles gave themselves a little more breathing room before the half ended at 37-33.
A trey from Severo and a jumper courtesy of Chauncey Thomas gave TAMUK its first lead just over a minute into the second half and, after a three from Brian Rodriguez-Flores put the visitors back in front, Severo and Thomas each scored again to make the score 42-40.
The lead changed hands several times after that until, with 9:30 remaining, senior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas) sank two free throws for 52-51 lead the Javelinas wouldn't lose. A Sammy Brooks (Dallas, Texas) jumper followed by another from Chauncey Thomas with 5:17 left put the Hogs up five, 60-55, and they took their largest lead, 63-57, at the 3:52 mark, but CSC got a triple from Colby Jackson to pull within three a minute later.
The teams traded scores before Jacob Jefferson hit a layup, putting the visitors back at a three point deficit, 67-64 with the clock at 1:28. Two foul shots from Jackson with 57 seconds left sliced TAMUK's deficit to one and the Javs couldn't add to their lead on their next possession, but a turnover by Jackson gave the ball back to the home team. Mouton then drew a foul and, after two missed foul shots, Jackon's last-second heave fell short, clinching a Javelina win.
The Javelinas were outshot by their opponents, who hit 52.4 percent of their shots and were 9-of-18 from three, compared to TAMUK's 34.7 and 4-of-23 in those categories, respectively, but TAMUK won in almost every other category, most notably turnovers.
The 33 giveaways by the Eagles the most forced by the Javs since Johnny Estelle took over as head coach in 2014. Those opportunities were converted into 34 points. The home team was +16 on points in the paint, enjoying a 34-18 edge. They also logged 19 fast break points while giving up only one and beat the visitors in second chance points, 17-9.
Next up for the Blue and Gold is a pair on the road, starting on Friday in Nampa, Idaho, when they'll take on Central Washington 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.
