SAN ANGELO, Texas – Freshman Marcus Jones (Cheneyville, La.) set a career-high with 15 points and Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to fight their way past the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys, 72-67, on Friday evening on the first day of the Ed Messbarger Classic at the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center in San Angelo, Texas.
The Javelinas have now won four-in-a-row and their record for season stands at 4-1. ATU is 2-2.
"This was a Javelina way culture win," said coach Johnny Estelle. "It took everyone. Arkansas Tech is very good, well coached team. Coach Downey has been a very successful coach at many levels. I have a lot of respect for him, his staff, and players.
As for the Javelinas, we battled hard tonight. This game flipped quickly in the second half and Arkansas Tech deserves credit for that. I could not be more pleased with our defensive intensity and effort. Our staff and bench did a great job keeping us focused and engaged."
Jones' 15 points came on 5-of-8 shooting and he was 3-of-4 from beyond the arc with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Juniors Sammy Brooks (Dallas, Texas) and Creighton Avery (Corpus Christi, Texas) each finished with 11 points while Avery and sophomore Jake Majors (Corpus Christi, Texas) both passed out a team-high four assists. Senior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) led TAMUK in rebounding with six boards.
"I thought Marcus Jones was unbelievable on both ends," said Estelle. "He does so many little things that impact winning. He comes from one of the best programs in Louisiana, Alexandria Peabody, and was coached by one best coaches at any level, Charles Smith. He definitely looked like that tonight and made Peabody proud! Sammy Brooks also came through huge with some huge shots when we erased a nine-point lead deep in the second half."
The Hogs scored the game's first five points, including a Derek Luna (Palmview, Texas) triple to start the scoring and a jumper from the freshman combined with four Dayante McClellan points later helped TAMUK take an 18-7 lead.
The Wonder Boys cut their deficit to six multiple times in the first half, the last instance being at 29-23, but the Javelinas responded with seven straight points for a nine-point edge. The final four points of the period were scored by ATU, making the score at the break 36-27.
The beginning of the second half saw the Wonders Boys overwhelm the Javelinas with a 23-5 run that allowed them to flip their nine-point deficit into a nine-point lead in eight-and-a-half minutes. Despite this switch in momentum, the Hogs refused to wilt and they responded with three straight treys, the last two coming from Brooks to tie the score at 50. While a Czar Perry jumper thrust ATU back in front by two, threes from senior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) and Jones staked the Javelinas to a 56-52 advantage with 7:40 on the clock.
The lead continued to change hands as a 7-0 ATU run was answered by five straight Javelina points, then the teams traded buckets until they found themselves locked in 65-65 tie with less than two minutes to play.
It was at this point that Jones supplied one more clutch basket, draining a corner three to give his team the edge one last time. The Wonder Boys cut the lead to one, but two Majors foul shots upped it back to three. A steal from Jones then snatched away ATU's last chance to tie the score and the freshman secured a win with two from the charity stripe. Combined, Jones and Brooks accounted for 19 second-half points.
"We shared the ball with 16 assists and won the rebound battle by six," said Estelle. "The most impressive stat was what we call 'first to the floor'. We had many extra efforts and little plays that helped us win tonight. It was not pretty, but I would rather win ugly any day."
The Javelinas will spend one more day in San Angelo, as they're scheduled to take on Missouri Baptist on Saturday at 2 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.
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