KINGSVILLE, Texas – Fresh off two more home wins and after earning votes in the national rankings, the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team will embark on one of their shortest and most challenging road trips of the season, with the schedule sending them to two of the biggest cities in Texas for a pair of divisional clashes.
The first tilt on the docket will pit the Hogs against No. 6 St. Edward's on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Recreation and Convocation Center in Austin. The team will then move on to San Antonio for a game against the St. Mary's Rattlers on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Bill Greehy Arena.
Both of these opponents reside in the same division as the Javelinas, who currently own the third-best record against teams in their pod at 2-1, behind 1-0 SEU and 3-0 Dallas Baptist. In league competition, no team has done better than the 8-1 marks currently owned by the Hilltoppers and Javelinas, while the Rattlers are 0-1 in the division and 4-5 in the conference.
SEU and StMU are in the midst of their first year as members of the LSC, but they're both familiar foes for the Blue and Gold. TAMUK has played the Hilltoppers and the Rattlers a combined 197 times, including two matchups against each squad in 2018-19. One of the Hogs' most impressive wins of that season was a 69-58 road victory over then-No. 14 St. Edward's and when SEU came to play in Kingsville, the Javs took them to overtime before the Hilltoppers eked out an 88-83 win.
The Rattlers were a much tougher nut to crack for the Blue and Gold, who fell to St. Mary's in their home opener, 60-55, then dropped the rematch in San Antonio, 65-52. Prior to last season, the Javelinas had won the last two times they were on the Rattlers' home court.
Caleb Jordan was one of the key figures in both of StMU's victories over TAMUK a year ago, averaging 14.0 points in those two games, and he's continuing to play a prominent role for the Rattlers in 2019-20. In just his sophomore season, Jordan is leading his team with an average of 15.3 points per game. He's also the reigning LSC Offensive Player of the Week after scoring 51 combined points in victories over Cameron and Midwestern State.
The Hilltoppers, who's previous two games were triumphs over the Aggies and Mustangs as well, are led by an even more prolific scorer in the person of Ashton Spears. His 18.5 points per game average is tops on an offense that's 13th in the nation in scoring, tied for 17th in shooting percentage and owns Division II's third best turnover margin. SEU is also led by senior point guard August Haas, who is third in the nation in assists per game at 7.9. He logged his first double-double of the season against the Aggies, dropping 10 dimes while scoring 17 points.
Trying to slow down these excellent offenses will be the nation's 17th best scoring defense and a group that last allowed 80 points on Nov. 16th. A cast of many has helped the Javelinas burnish their reputation as an outstanding defensive team. Sophomore Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) and junior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) are tied for the team lead in blocks with seven, junior Chauncey Thomas (Plano, Texas) has a squad-best 16 steals and senior John Mouton (Missouri City, Texas) tops the team leaderboard in rebounds with 85.
Over his team's last five contests, Mouton has averaged 12.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. His latest performance was 15-point, 13-rebound clinic in a 75-60 victory over A&M-Commerce on Saturday, his second double-double in TAMUK's last four games. Mouton has also crafted his team's best shooting percentage, hitting better than 49 percent of his shots from the floor.
Fans can follow both games live via links on Javelinaathletics.com for streaming video and up-to-the-minute stats and be sure to check back postgame for a recap of all the action. 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.
