KINGSVILLE, Texas – A two-week break since the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team won its fourth straight game is nearly over and the Javelinas will take the court for the first time in December on Saturday, tipping-off at 4 p.m. against Lone Star Conference competitor Texas A&M International inside the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building in Laredo, Texas.
The last time coach Johnny Estelle had his players on the court, they were completing the team's non-conference schedule by defeating Colorado State-Pueblo and Texas A&M-Texarkana at the Emerald Beach Thanksgiving Tournament in Kingsville. Those victories pushed the Javelinas' win streak to four-in-a-row and upped their overall record to 6-2.
The Javelinas started their current run during their first weekend of the season in conference play, notching road wins over Oklahoma Christian on Nov. 21st and Arkansas-Fort Smith on Nov. 23rd. The Hogs are one of five programs in the 18-team LSC to triumph in their first two league games of the season, but two of those squads, Dallas Baptist and St. Mary's, reside in the same division as TAMUK. Saturday afternoon's contest offers the Javs the chance to win their first three conference road games for the first time since 1995-96.
Senior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) and junior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) have been the two most prominent contributors during their team's recent run of success. After scoring 16 and 19 points against OC and UAFS, respectively, Thomas tallied another 16 points at the expense of the ThunderWolves. He's currently averaging 11.7 points per games.
Flowers leads the Hogs in that statistic at 12.9 and his last time out, he posted the program's highest point total in more than seven years and tied the school record with nine three-pointers against Texas A&M-Texarkana. The junior from Bryan is in top 10 in the conference in made threes and both Flowers and Thomas have hit at least once from beyond the arc in every TAMUK game so far this season.
Trying to slow down this lethal pairing and the rest of the TAMUK offense will be a TAMIU squad that's back on their home court for the first time in nearly a month. The Dustdevils are also looking for their first win in nearly a month, having dropped five straight since a Nov. 15th victory over Arlington Baptist. That losing streak includes the team's first two LSC games and Saturday's matchup will also give them a chance to get in the win column in league play for the first time this year.
Forward Caleb Highley has established himself as the most formidable presence on coach Joel Taylor's roster. Through eight games, Highley leads the Dustdevils in scoring, rebounding and is just outside the LSC's top 10 in field goal percentage. He fell just short of a double-double in TAMIU's season-opening win over Chadron State, but still churned out 22 points and nine rebounds. He also reached 20 points against Arlington Baptist on Nov. 15th to help lead his team to its second win.
Fans can follow the action on Saturday via links on Javelinaathletics.com to live video and stats and they can also check back after the game for a full rundown of all the goings-on in Laredo. You can keep up with everything related to Javelina men's basketball all season long by following @JavelinaMBB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter and Instagram, liking Javelina Men's Basketball on Facebook and subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
