KINGSVILLE, Texas – Senior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas) collected his second double-double of the season and senior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas) tallied a team-high 16 points as the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team battled past the A&M-Commerce Lions, 75-60, on Saturday evening in Lone Star Conference action at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javelinas have now won two-in-a-row and 10 of their last 11. They own an 8-1 conference mark with an overall record of 12-3. At home, they're 8-0, the first time they've accomplished that since the 2006-07 season. Commerce fell to 6-3 in conference and 10-5 overall.
"Tonight was a great team effort," said Coach Johnny Estelle. "There are some personal accolades you could hand out. John Mouton played unbelievable on both ends of the court. The energy from the crowd was really good. We executed offensively a lot better than we did on Thursday. Defensively, they made some plays, but we rebounded and played hard and kept fighting and that's why we won."
"We went out and executed," said Mouton. "We stuck to the gameplan and everybody knew what their job was when they got in the game. We were tough and physical and that was our plan."
Thomas' 16 points came on 4-of-6 shooting, including a pair of threes, and he hit 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Mouton's 15 points and 13 rebounds were both season-highs and he led all players in the latter statistic while hitting 5-of-8 from the floor. Senior Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas) reached double figures in scoring for the second straight game, totaling 10 points while also leading the squad with three assists, and junior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) tossed in 10 points as well.
TAMUK set a new season-high with 27 free throws and shot 81.8 percent from the line. They also dominated on the glass, outrebounding their guests 39-24.
"Rebounding really is a key element to being a championship level team," said Estelle. "A lot of people think its offense or defense or shooting, but I think if you can rebound the ball at a high level on both ends, you'll have a chance to win every night."
The Lions opened the scoring with a three by Wayne Stewart, who would go on to post a game-high 23, but that would be their only lead of the day. Senior Daniel Severo (Osasco, Brazil) quickly responded with a trey of his own that sparked a 9-0 run for the Blue and Gold.
The closest Commerce got after that was within four points and in the final instance, a Deonta Terrell jumper put their deficit to 27-23 with 6:51 to play in the first half. Flowers supplied the answer in this case, draining a trey and the Javs would put up the next 11 points to push their advantage out to 15. They would carry a 38-25 advantage into halftime.
The Lions tried to mount a comeback in the second half, but the Hogs repulsed each charge. A mini, 7-3 run for the Lions was countered by five straight Javelina points, including a three-point play courtesy of Flowers. A&M-C closed to within eight at the 12:31 mark before Rashon Thomas tallied five-in-a-row to help make the score 57-43.
Two more times, the visitors cut TAMUK's lead to single digits and both instances were the result of threes by Stewart. The final one put the scoreboard at Javelinas 60, Lions 52 with 7:10 on the clock. Chauncey Thomas and Mouton then each scored four points in an 8-2 spurt that killed A&M-C's final comeback hopes. A few more Hog free throws put the game on ice.
The Javelinas are on the road on Thursday, when they'll go up against No. 7 St. Edward's at the Recreation and Convocation Center in Austin for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. 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.
