KINGSVILLE, Texas – Freshman Derek Luna (Palmview, Texas) and junior Jordan Wilson (Blytheville, Ark.) led the way on a night when four different players scored in the double figures and the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team claimed an 84-46 laugher over the Texas A&M International Dustdevils in Lone Star Conference action on Monday night at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
This was the third victory in-a-row for TAMUK and put the team's record at 5-1. A&M International dropped to 0-6.
"We got refocused," said coach Johnny Estelle, "What I love about these kids is they're all winners and they all play for each other. They play for the school and the brand and they can make corrections. That's one thing I love about recruiting winners and guys from great families. They just want to win and follow instructions and that's what they did. The made the adjustments, came out today, defended home court and played well together."
Four different Javelinas scored in double figures, led by Luna's game-high and career-high 18 points. Wilson had perfect shooting night, hitting 6-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from the free throw line on the way to a 17-point night. Both players also grabbed six rebounds, which tied for a game-high, as did Wilson's three assists. The Hogs also received 12 points from junior Ellis Jones (Houston, Texas) and 10 from junior Creighton Avery (Corpus Christi, Texas).
The Javs 50.9 shooting percentage was their best to this point in the 2020-21 season they also set new season-highs with 45 rebounds and five blocked shots.
No time was wasted by the Hogs, who got eight combined points from Wilson and Luna during a 10-0 run to begin the game. After the Dustdevils closed to within 15-6, a jumper by junior Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) and a trey from sophomore Jake Majors (Corpus Christi, Texas) put TAMUK up by 14 and they would never lead by less than 13 points after that.
Avery later contributed five points in a 12-3 run that pushed the home team's advantage past 20 and it would grow as large as 22 in the first half following a three-point play by Jones. When the teams reached halftime, the Javelinas were in command, 51-31.
After the break, the Javelinas limited their guests to 5-of-26 from the field and TAMUK's edge never sunk below 22 points. The Javs outscored the Dustdevils 19-7 over the final eight minutes to push their margin to 38, the program's largest win since Feb. 22nd, 2018, when they beat Western New Mexico 80-40.
TAMUK's next chance to get on the court comes on Friday, when they'll play host to the UT Permian Basin Falcons at 4 p.m. Fans can keep up with Javelina men's basketball 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.
