KINGSVILLE, Texas – Less than one month remains until the Lone Star Conference Tournament kicks-off on March 3rd and the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team remains in possession of one of the top four spots in the LSC standings, which, if they can maintain that status, would result in a first-round bye in the conference tournament, but the Javelinas still have seven games to play before those seedings are decided.
The good news for TAMUK is five of their final seven regular season contests are at home, including a 7:30 p.m. meeting against the St. Mary's Rattlers on Thursday at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas and a 4 p.m. duel with the No. 10 St. Edward's Hilltoppers on Saturday at the SPEC.
The Hogs enter their ninth week of LSC play with an overall record of 16-5 and they're 12-3 in the LSC, which is the program's second-highest win total ever in conference play, surpassed only by the 1995-96 squad, which went 13-3. The team's conference record trails only 13-1 West Texas A&M and 13-2 SEU. Their closest pursuers are Angelo State and Lubbock Christian, both of whom are 10-4.
One of the most important factors in TAMUK's success has been a 9-1 mark in their own building, the team's best 10-game start at home since they were also 9-1 through 10 games at the SPEC in 2009-10. The Hogs' defense has been on point on their home court, limiting opponents to an average of 63.1 points per game and only twice has the visiting squad scored 70 or more. The Javelinas have also forced an average of 17.2 turnovers per game at home and they're plus-3.1 in that category.
On offense, the Javs own a scoring average of 72.6 during their 10 games in Kingsville and their attack has been powered by a cast of many. Seven different players have scored in double figures for the Blue and Gold in their last four matchups at the SPEC and senior Rashon Thomas (Houston, Texas), junior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) and sophomore Creighton Avery (Corpus Christi, Texas) have all set season-highs during that period. Thomas' season-high came the last time his team was at home, on Jan. 23rd against Eastern New Mexico, when he poured in 26 points, his highest total since coming to Kingsville. Only junior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas), who had 31 against Texas A&M-Texarkana on Nov. 30th, has posted a higher point total for TAMUK this season.
The Rattlers (9-12, 5-10) and Hilltoppers (19-2, 13-2) both know what it will take to win in Kingsville, as they each picked up a road win over the Javs during the 2018-19 season. They will also bring with them plenty of players who can score as well. The Rattlers have three student-athletes in the LSC's top 30 in points per game, while SEU owns the league's second-best scoring average.
Caleb Jordan, Kobe Magee and Markques Houston are all averaging over 10 points per game for StMU, led by Jordan's mark of 14.5, but Magee has been the man with the hot hand lately. He scored a career-high 32 points against Lubbock Christian on Jan. 23rd and is averaging 20.5 in his team's last four times out. Against Tarleton on Saturday, he logged his second double-double of the year, racking up 16 points and 10 assists. Magee's average of 5.7 assists per game is second-best in the LSC.
The only player in the LSC with a better assists average than Magee is SEU's August Hass, who's piled up 174 dimes this year, third-most in Division II. One of the players benefitting from Haas' passing ability is the LSC's fourth-leading scorer, senior guard Ashton Spears. The Louisiana native has reached 20 points in more than half of his team's 21 games, with a season-high of 42 against A&M-Commerce on Nov. 23rd. When St. Edward's visited Kingsville in 2018, Spears spearheaded an 88-83 overtime win over the Hogs by tallying 28 points and hitting 10-of-21 from the floor.
Live video and stats for both games will be available through Javelinaathletics.com and fans can also check back postgame for a rundown of all that happened in both contests. 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.
