PORTALES, N.M. – Freshman Darius Mickens (Willis, Texas) hit 7-of-9 shots from the field on his way to an 18-point night, but Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team suffered its fourth consecutive loss, a 76-72 nail-biter against the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds in Lone Star Conference action at Greyhound Arena in Portales, N.M. on Thursday night.
For Mickens, this represented his second-highest scoring total of the season, only topped by the 21 points he scored against UT Permian Basin on Jan. 19th. His 77.8 shooting percentage was his best of the year and both his percentage and point total were game-highs.
Freshman Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) also reached double figures with 13 points, matching his season-high. Senior Robert Stevenson (Houston, Texas) led all players with 12 rebounds.
It took nearly two minutes for someone to get on the scoresheet before Chayer broke the ice with his first three of the night. The Javelinas went ahead early, 7-2 before ENMU tied the score at nine, but the Javs soon went on the night's first run.
Ahead 15-13 with 11:25 on the clock, Stevenson sparked a 9-3 burst. The senior forward scored on a put-back, then rejected a layup from Devin Pullum before adding two more on a dunk and the Hogs soon held a 24-16 lead.
The Greyhounds quickly responded by seizing the momentum for the first time in the game. They raced away on a 14-2 run, with Darius Sawyer and Nick Brown each contributing six points during that stretch. The Greyhounds led by as many as seven late in the first half, only to see the Javelinas get the final word, creeping to within one with the last six points of the period, including a buzzer-beating jumper courtesy of Mickens.
TAMUK quickly evened things at 37 and tied the game up two more times before consecutive buckets from Mickens gave the visitors a 46-41 advantage.
Another response came from the Greyhounds, this one in the form of a 12-2 rally to make the score 53-48. The Greyhound lead eventually reached nine points with 5:35 remaining, but the Javelinas came back by tallying 12 of the next 16 points, putting them within one at the 2:10 mark.
The Greyhounds had a chance to increase their lead, but could only hit one of four attempts from the free throw line. However, TAMUK was unable to capitalize on opportunities to tie or take the lead until Pullum nailed a jumper four a 72-68 lead with 18 seconds to play. A battle of free throws ensued, but the Greyhounds were able to keep their opponents at bay.
The final matchup in TAMUK's string of four straight road games takes them to Canyon, Texas on Saturday, where they'll square off with the West Texas A&M Buffaloes at 4 p.m. 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.
