KINGSVILLE, Texas – Bad weather followed by a bye week led to a stretch of more than two weeks between games for the No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team, but the opportunity to get back on the court has finally arrived for the Javelinas, who will close out the regular season with a home-and-home against the UT Tyler Patriots, with the series beginning with a 7:30 p.m. contest on Wednesday in Tyler Texas at the Louis Herrington Patriot Center, followed by a rematch on Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javelinas, who haven't lost since mid-December, will be attempting to get back in the groove that's seen them rattle off 11 straight victories, tying a program record. These games will also be the team's last two chances to try and improve their ranking for the Lone Star Conference Tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The Hogs are currently projected for the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament, behind Lubbock Christian, West Texas A&M and Dallas Baptist.
The player with the hottest hand before the season went on pause was junior forward Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas). On February 1st, Chayer earned the LSC's Defensive Player of the Week award and seven days later he took home conference offensive player of the week honors, becoming the first Javelina in more than a decade to win those awards in consecutive weeks. The latter recognition came after the Corpus native put up 20 points in consecutive victories over No. 25 St. Edward's.
Chayer has also been the most consistent presence in the paint, leading rebounder and leading shot blocker on a squad that's 11th in the country in scoring defense and leads the LSC in shooting percentage allowed. The Javs have also held the opposition to 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc in 2020-21 and their +4.4 rebounding margin puts them second in the conference.
The Patriots will be attempting to spring a pair of upsets on the Hogs in the hopes that those win could catapult them from 12th in the LSC rankings up to eighth to grab the final conference tournament spot. Second-year coach Louis Wilson saw his team stumble out of the gate to a 2-9 start, but they've since rebounded to win five straight, including back-to-back overtime wins over Cameron and Arkansas-Fort Smith on Feb. 8th and 12th, respectively.
Their last time out, the Patriots stifled the St. Mary's Rattlers offense and held them to 46 points and 30 percent shooting for the game. They also forced 21 turnovers, marking five straight games in which UTT has tallied at least 20 takeaways. The 18.8 turnovers they average forcing per game is second-best in the LSC.
The players who've helped set the tone for this ferocious defense have been senior guards Emanuel Gant and Da'Zhon Wyche. Gant's 28 steals are the LSC's third most and Wyche is just one spot behind his teammates. These two have also been among the the Patriots' top scorers, with Wyche's 14.1 points per game average including a 30-point night in a win over UAFS on Feb. 13th.
Live coverage of both games between the Javelinas and the Patriots, including links to live video and stats and a postgame recap can be found on Javelinaathletics.com. 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.
