CHADRON, Neb. – Freshman Derek Luna (Palmview, Texas) rattled off a career-high 28 points and the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team piled up 23 assists on their way to an 84-74 victory over the Chadron State Eagles on Saturday night at the Chicoine Center in Chadron, Neb.
"I believe tonight was more reflective of what our program's identity and culture has been in the past," said coach Johnny Estelle. "We had multiple key reserves off the bench. They all impacted winning by doing the little things that sometimes go unnoticed."
Luna shot 10-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 on three-pointers, and his 28 points give him 55 through the season's first two games. C.J. Smith (Mansfield, Texas) tossed in 13 points and added six assists, tied with Trajan Snell (Waco, Texas) for a game-high. Freshman Marcus Jones (Cheneyville, La.) set a career-high with 12 points, hitting 5-of-5 from the field.
Senior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) led all players with nine rebounds and scored eight points. Sophomore Jake Majors (Corpus Christi, Texas) also handed out five assists to contribute to TAMUK's total of 23, their highest since Feb. 15th, 2020, when they also tallied 23.
"I thought the contributions of Marcus Jones, Trajan Snell, Tayvion Johnson and Jake Majors were key to our victory," said Estelle. "As for Derek Luna, he was on another level both nights. He played another high level game of efficiency and continues to prove why he has been part of winning throughout his career."
The teams started the night by trading buckets, but the Javelinas broke a 5-5 tie with an 8-0 run that included four points from Luna. A few minutes later, back-to-back treys from senior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) and Majors pushed TAMUK's advantage to 23-10, but the Eagles battled back to eventually close within three at 34-31. The final five points of the half came from the Hogs, however, capped by a Luna triple for an eight-point halftime difference.
A layup by Smith and another deep shot from Luna quickly upped TAMUK's edge to 44-33 in the second half and Luna tacked five straight points a few minutes later for a 14-point advantage.
A pair of treys from Jones later helped the Javs increase their lead to 15 and his second triple made the score 61-46 with 8:09 remaining. The Eagles outscored the Javelinas 20-9 over the next four-plus minutes to get within five at 71-66, but Smith scored on a jumper and a three to push the visitors back in front by 10. CSC couldn't get closer than seven after that as the Javelinas pocketed their first win of the season.
TAMUK now returns to Kingsville to prepare for its home opener on Friday at 7 p.m. against Dallas Christian. 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.
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