SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Two Jordan Wilson (Blytheville, Ark.) free throws with eight seconds left in regulation tied the score and the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team never trailed in overtime before slipping away with a heart-stopping, 80-75 victory over the St. Mary's Rattlers in Lone Star Conference action on Saturday evening inside Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas.
This win is TAMUK's seventh-in-a-row and puts their record at 9-1, both overall and in the LSC. That mark matches their best 10-game start in conference play, which they achieved in 1995-96. Overall, it's the third time in program history they've begun a year 9-1.
"This was one of the toughest games we played this year," said coach Johnny Estelle, "against a well-coached and talented St. Mary's team. We were in foul trouble all night and had to play different lineups. The tempo of the game made it challenging, but our players continue to believe and compete."
No one scored more on this night than senior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas), who fired off 19 points and added four rebounds and three assists. Junior Creighton Avery's (Corpus Christi, Texas) four assists tied with freshman Derek Luna (Palmview, Texas) for a game-high and Avery also added 17 points, seven of which came in OT. Sophomore Jake Majors (Corpus Christi, Texas) contributed 11, a new career-high.
"Tre Flowers and Creighton Avery were awesome with their leadership and productivity on the floor tonight," said Estelle, "but the unsung hero was Jake Majors. He continues to give us mental and physical toughness every night."
The Javelinas trailed by as many as 12 in the first half and with less than 10 minutes remaining, they found themselves down by eight, 56-48. TAMUK used three consecutive treys, first from Wilson, then back-to-back triples courtesy of Flowers to gain a one-point edge, only to see their hosts tally 10 of the next 14 points for a 66-61 advantage with three minutes left.
After Flowers sunk two foul shots and Caleb Jordan drained one, sophomore Wellington Stovall (Houston, Texas) tossed in a layup to pull the Hogs within two. Jordan quickly answered with two more freebies, but Avery hit two of his own with 46 seconds on the clock, putting the score at 69-67.
On their next possession, the Rattlers had a chance to apply the dagger, but an open-look three by Jordan wouldn't fall and TAMUK had one more chance. After a timeout, Wilson drew a foul, went to the line and knotted things at 69. One more Javelina stop later, the teams were headed for an extra session.
Avery immediately put his team ahead with consecutive layups and the Hogs never looked back. Three times the Rattlers got as close as two points, but the Javs kept nailing free throws to keep their lead intact. Majors applied the clincher with two more from the line in final moments.
"This is an amazing group of young men," said Estelle, "who have the ability to sacrifice and truly commit to the winning process. They are selfless and continue to contribute and hold in high regard the Javelina brand."
StMU held the Javs to a 35.9 shooting percentage, their lowest mark of the season, and 6-of-21 on three-pointers, while the Rattlers were shooting 44 percent in both categories. The visitors, however, also forced 22 turnovers, which they turned into 19 points and their 28 free throws were almost twice as many as they'd hit in any previous game in 2020-21.
The Javelinas will be back on the road on Friday, when they make the trip to Canyon, Texas to tangle with West Texas A&M at 6 p.m. Fans can keep up with Javelina men's basketball throughout the season by following @JavelinaMBB on Twitter and Instagram, liking Texas A&M University-Kingsville Men's Basketball on Facebook, subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube channel and visiting Javelinaathletics.com. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
