SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team broke a 36-36 halftime tie with a 26-6 run and shot 52 percent in the second half to collect a 78-66 victory over the St. Mary's Rattlers on Monday evening at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas.
The Javelinas will now enter the holiday break having won three-in-a-row and with an 8-2 record, the fourth time in five years they've started the season 8-2 or better. The Rattlers record stands at 2-6.
"I thought the kids played well," said coach Johnny Estelle. "The first half, I thought we were a little lethargic, then we really came on in the second half. We had some guys who didn't play in the first that came out and gave us a spark. Xaiver [Armstead] did a great job and guys like Derek Luna and Tre Flowers and C.J. Smith did a great job. Creighton Avery gave us some great minutes and Dayante McClellan, what can you say about him? He's just a winner."
Topping the scoring charts for the Javelinas was freshman Derek Luna (Palmview, Texas), who tallied 12 points and led the team with four assists, and senior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) who put up 10 with a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore C.J. Smith (Mansfield, Texas) totaled nine points and four other Javelinas finished with eight.
The teams played back-and-forth basketball throughout the first half, with the lead changing hands nine times. The Javelinas took the first two-possession lead of the day at 10-6 with 17:32 on the clock, but the Rattlers responded by scoring eight of the next 10 points for a 14-12 edge. After the Javs evened the score at 17, StMU tallied seven-in-a-row to take their largest lead at 24-17.
A triple from Luna started a stretch in which the Hogs outpaced their hosts, 14-6, giving them a 31-30 lead and TAMUK would later go ahead by three before StMU drew level at 36 just in time for the halftime buzzer.
The Rattlers scored the first points of the second half on a layup by Mamady Djikine, but the Javelinas took over after that, starting with threes courtesy of seniors Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) and Xaiver Armstead (Waco, Texas). Another deep splash from Armstead and eight points from junior Sammy Brooks (Dallas, Texas) fueled a 21-3 Blue and Gold run that gave the visitors a 57-41 advantage with 11:36 to play.
A triple from Luna with 8:29 remaining put the Javs ahead by 20 at 62-42 and while StMU attempted to mount a comeback, the Javs blunted each thrust. The Rattlers cut their deficit to 13 with a 9-2 burst, but five consecutive points from freshman Marcus Jones (Cheneyville, La.) increased it back to 18. By the time StMU got to within 10 points at 74-64, the clock was down to 18 seconds and the Hogs soon secured their third straight win.
The Javelinas next chance to extend their win streak will come on Dec. 31st, when they'll host a matchup against Lubbock Christian at 4 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.
Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. Get the Official Javelina Athletics Mobile App today! Download on the App Store or Get It on Google Play to keep up with all the news, scores and updates of your favorite
