KINGSVILLE, Texas – Three straight losses have dropped the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team from fourth into sixth place in the Lone Star Conference, but two more opportunities wait for the Javelinas (10-10, 6-6), who will hit the road to tangle with a pair more conference foes.
First, they'll visit the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. inside Greyhound Arena in Portales, N.M. On Saturday, the Hogs will head to Canyon, Texas for a rematch with the nation's No. 7 team, the West Texas A&M Buffaloes, at 4 p.m. at the First United Bank Center.
The first leg of this year's series against both teams occurred on TAMUK's home court and neither the Greyhounds nor the Buffs found success in Kingsville. WT visited the Steinke Physical Education Center on Jan. 10th, when they were ranked at No. 8, and the Javs handed the Buffs an 86-74 loss, TAMUK's first win over a top 10 team in two years. Junior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas) led the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Two days after knocking off West Texas, ENMU came to Kingsville and the Hogs sent them packing with a 68-59 victory. Freshman Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) put together his best showing of the season in that contest, totaling 13 points with nine rebounds.
Eastern New Mexico will carry a three-game win streak into Thursday's clash. That run has allowed them to leap-frog the Javs and take fifth place in the league standings, with a mark of 7-6 and 10-11 overall. A win on Thursday would give them their second four-game win streak of the season while the Javelinas are gunning for their second season sweep of the Greyhounds in three years.
The tallest task for the Hogs in accomplishing that mission is containing the reigning LSC Offensive Player of the Week, Emili Chukuka. He logged double-doubles in wins over UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico over the past week, including 25 points and 16 rebounds against the Mustangs. He's also established himself as a defensive force, leading the conference with 44 blocked shots, a total that ties him for 20th in the nation. His average of 8.1 rebounds per game is good enough for third in conference.
WT wasted no time in returning to form after losing to the Javs and they've since reeled off eight straight wins, a streak that has entrenched them in first place in the LSC at 12-1 and 23-3 overall. In seven of those eight wins, the Buffs have reached 80 points and they enter the week off consecutive games scoring over 100 points in blowouts of WNMU and UTPB. The team's average of 84.1 points per game is the LSC's second-best and 35th in the country.
Senior Ryan Quaid continues stating his case for the league's player of the year honor with a prolific senior season and he still owns spots in the LSC's top five in scoring and rebounding. Quaid was held to one of his lowest outputs of the season against the Javelinas, scoring seven points on 2-of-7 shooting, but he's returned form since then. He's averaged nearly 20 points per game in his last eight contests, including 29 against UTPB on Thursday with 10 rebounds, his seventh double-double of the year.
Trying to slow down the hot hands of Chukaka and Quaid will be a Javelina defense that remains atop the conference's statistical leaderboard. In addition to leading the LSC in a number of defensive categories, including scoring defense and blocked shots, the Javs are in the top 50 nationally in seven statistics, among them turnovers forced and field goal percentage allowed, where they continue to hold on to third.
Junior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) has remained one of the focal points for TAMUK's versatile offense, scoring in double figures in four consecutive games. That streak includes a team-high 23-point night against A&M-Commerce on Jan. 31st. Senior Robert Stevenson (Houston, Texas) remains the team's most reliable player in the paint. His 32 rejections are the second-most in the LSC and he's also in the conference's top 10 in rebounds, averaging pulling down more than seven per contest.
Fans can follow each game via links to live video and stats on Javelinaathletics.com. Following the final buzzer, a recap will also be published on the website. To stay up-to-date with TAMUK men's basketball all season, follow @JavelinaMBB on Twitter, @Javelinasports on Instagram, like Javelina Men's Basketball on Facebook and subscribe to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel.
