LAREDO, Texas – A 23-point afternoon from senior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) and 16 more courtesy of junior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) helped the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team overcome a 41-33 halftime deficit and earn an 80-70 victory over Texas A&M International on Saturday afternoon in Lone Star Conference action at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building in Laredo, Texas.
"I was very pleased," said coach Johnny Estelle, "Not so much in the first half, but we had a two week lay-off. I was proud of our team. They made the adjustments at halftime. International came out and hit everything. They played well which is a tribute to their coach. Our guys hung in there, stayed together and executed when they needed to."
Thomas' point total matched his best day as a Javelina and he hit 4-of-9 from three-point range, while adding nine points from the free throw line and three assists. Over his last five contests, Thomas is averaging 16.2 points per game.
Flowers has now topped 15 points in three straight and his scoring total was accompanied by four assists, which tied for a team-high. Senior Daniel Severo (Osasco, Brazil) got on the scoresheet to the tune of 11 points and sophomore Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) topped the team leaderboard in rebounds with five and scored nine points. Senior Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas) matched Flowers' assist total with four.
The Hogs took an early 10-5 edge, capped by a trey by junior Jamell Bradley (Converse, Texas), only to see the home team register 13 of the next 17 points to move in front by four.
TAMUK jumped back on top with five-in-a-row and the lead went back-and-forth more than once before the Dustdevils grabbed the momentum. A Tom Higgins jumper followed by triple from Jorge Mejias-Sanchez sent TAMIU ahead 27-21 and they outscored their guests 21-12 over the period's final 9:22 to take a 41-33 advantage into the break.
While the Javs hit 46.4 percent of their shots in the first half and went 2-of-12 from beyond the arc, the Dustdevils were 17-of-22 from the floor over the first 20 minutes, a 77.3 clip. They also hit 5-of-7 on threes.
The Javelina deficit grew to nine early in the second half and still stood at 47-39 with 17:33 remaining, but Severo triple brought TAMUK within five. After the teams exchanged buckets until the scoreboard read Dustdevils 52, Javelinas 47, the Hogs took off on a run to grab the lead.
Rashon Thomas sparked the rally with a trey and quickly added another to put his team ahead. Those buckets lit the fuse for a 12-0 run that gave the visitors a seven-point advantage and they would never give up the lead after that.
Despite attempts to regain the lead by TAMIU, the Hogs kept their opponents at bay. Caleb Highly tallied the next two baskets for the home team, but Flowers responded by draining a three. TAMIU crept back within three at 64-61 before free throws courtesy of Severo and a Flowers layup upped the advantage back to seven. A three from the Dustdevils put them back within four with 2:01 left, but Rashon Thomas then supplied the dagger with his final trey of day and TAMUK was able to cruise the rest of the way.
The Javelinas will return to action at home on Thursday, when they'll match-up against the UT Permian Basin Falcons at 7 p.m. inside the Steinke Physical Education Center. Stay current with TAMUK men's basketball throughout the 2019-20 season 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.
