SAN ANGELO, Texas – Junior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas) matched his season-high with 16 points, but it wasn't enough as the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team suffered its third straight setback in the form of a 77-72 loss to the Angelo State Rams at the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center in San Angelo, Texas on Saturday evening.
Mouton was by no means the only Javelina to contribute on the scoresheet. Junior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) tallied 12 points and junior Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas) and senior Alex Mills (Laurens, S.C.) each tossed in 11. This marked the sixth time this season the Hogs have had four players in double figures.
Buckets by freshman Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Chauncey Thomas got the visitors on the board first before ASU responded with five straight points. Rashon Thomas gave the Javelinas the lead back with 13:38 on the clock by sinking a three to make the score 9-6 and Mills stretched his team's lead to six at 14-8 less than two minutes later with a trey of his own.
Angelo State bounced back with a 7-0 run to move in front by a point and the teams spent most of the rest of the half trading leads until ASU went up by two with 2:08 remaining on a layup from Josh Boutte. The Rams would take a three-point edge into halftime.
The Javelinas used five straight points from Rashon Thomas to even the score at 32 early in the final period, only to see the Rams reel off seven straight points. ASU's lead grew as large as 11 at the 9:20 mark following a Marcel Pettway layup.
By gradually chipping away at the deficit, the Javs moved to within four points at 57-53 thanks to a 6-0 run with just under five minutes left. The Rams used free throws to hold on to their lead down the stretch. Over the last four minutes, Angelo State made 16 foul shots, including two with five seconds remaining to secure the final margin.
The Javelinas had a better shooting day from the floor than their hosts, posting a mark of 44 percent on 28-of-63, while the Rams hit 39 percent of their shots. TAMUK shot 6-of-15 from beyond the arc while ASU connected five times on 15 attempts. The Blue and Gold also outrebounded Angelo State, 36-31.
At the free throw line, Angelo State enjoyed a considerable advantage, both in attempts and percentage. The home team took 39 shots from the charity stripe, sinking 30. The visitors were limited to 19 attempts, making 10.
The Javelinas have another road conference game up next, against Eastern New Mexico on Thursday at 8:30 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.
