SAN ANGELO, Texas – Senior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) led all players with 15 points and the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team outscored the Missouri Baptist Spartans 45-23 in the second half on their way to a 75-55 victory on Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Ed Messbarger Classic at the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center in San Angelo, Texas.

"Today was about mental and physical toughness," said coach Johnny Estelle. "Playing in preseason tournaments provides a rehearsal for the end of the season. Our quality depth and ability to play different lineups allows us to utilize our players in different ways. I could not be more proud of these young men who battled a lot this week with injury and illness."

The Javelinas have now taken five-in-a-row, the sixth straight year in which they've put together a win streak of at least five straight. TAMUK's record for the season is 5-1 while Missouri Baptist is 5-4.

Flowers' 15 points were a season-high and he posted a team-best +22 in plus-minus. Sophomore C.J. Smith (Mansfield, Texas) contributed 11 points and junior Jordan Wilson (Blytheville, Ark.) also posted a season-high in scoring with 10. Junior Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) logged six rebounds to lead the Javs and classmate Sammy Brooks (Dallas, Texas) nabbed four steals.

"I thought Tre Flowers was outstanding tonight," said Estelle. "In spite of feeling under the weather, he made some amazing plays on both ends of the floor. Just like our team motto 'No Excuses, Just Commitment,' he demonstrated mental toughness and his ability to play through adversity."

The Spartans earned an early five-point, 14-9 lead with an 8-2 burst and later increased their advantage to eight at 21-13. The Hogs responded with a run sparked by a Flowers triple and TAMUK proceeded to score 13 of the next 15 points to jump in front 26-23 with less than five minutes to play in the half.

MBU managed to battle back however, notching the final five points of the half to go to the break up, 32-30. The Spartans shot 53 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes while limiting the Javelinas to a shooting percentage of 31 percent. The Javelinas forced 11 first half turnovers and grabbed seven steals.

TAMUK's first order of business in the second half was re-taking the lead, which they did when Flowers drained a three following an offensive rebound. Flowers added another three moments later as part of an 8-0 Javelina run to begin the period. After MBU scored their first bucket of the half, the Javs tallied 17 of the game's next 21 points, a stretch that included four points from senior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) and made the score 55-38 with 9:55 to play.

The only run of the second half for the Spartans commenced with back-to-back layups by John Yaeger and a 10-2 spurt by MBU brought them to within nine at 57-48, but the Javelinas wouldn't allow their foes to get any closer. They outscored the Spartans 18-7 over the final seven minutes to lock up their fifth straight triumph.

The Javs shot an even 50 percent from the field in the second half and they ended the game with a 39-27 edge in rebounding. They also turned the ball over only nine times while forcing 23 takeaways.

"I would like to thank all of the supportive parents and family that sacrificed their Thanksgiving holiday break to join us," said Estelle. "It is definitely rewarding as a coach to experience such a supportive relationship between our players, their parents and the Javelina Nation."

The next time the Javelinas take the court it will be at home on Thursday, when they'll host the UT Permian Basin Falcons at 7:30 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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