KINGSVILLE, Texas — The Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team (1-0, 0-0 LSC) opened the 2022 season with a 75-42 victory over South Dakota Mines (0-1, 0-1 RMAC) on Javelina Champions Night in the Steinke Physical Education Center, on Friday. Additionally, With the win, the Javelinas improve to 7-2 on opening night under head coach Johnny Estelle.
"I thought it (the game) was outstanding," said Estelle following the win. "It was a group effort, everyone contributed, they played extremely hard, coach Omar Gonzalez did an excellent job with the scout and the kids did a good job executing the scout. They played for one another … the offensive will come around … but the way we compete and the way we competed for one another, it was good to see that."
Both teams were evenly matched through the first 15 minutes of the half, but the Javelinas found a spark, going on a 19-6 run to finish the half, shooting 7-12 from the field and 2-4 from behind the arc during the run.
C.J. Smith led the scoring for the Blue and Gold in the first half with 10 points, while Creighton Avery and Dillon Gooding pulled down three boards apiece. Additionally, the Javelinas shot efficiently in the frame, knocking down shots at a 48% clip.
The Javelina offense started the second half where it left off in the first, as they extended their lead to 42-23 in the first two minutes of the stanza. The Hogs extended their lead to 70-37 courtesy of a 16-4 run with 3:24 left in the game and never looked back en route to the victory.
As a team, the Javelinas shot 45.6% from the field and went 9-12 from the charity stripe while out-rebounded the Hardrockers 38-32.
Smith led the scoring for the Hoggies, finishing with 15 points on the night. Avery added 10 points of his own and pulled down six rebounds. Kavon Booker and Gooding each tallied nine points on the night, with Isaiah Payne and Allen Singleton contributing eight points to the offensive explosion.
The Hardrockers were led offensively by Kyle Harris, who scored 13 on the night. TAMUK played tight defense throughout the night, holding South Dakota Mines to just 35% overall and 21.1% from beyond the arc.
UP NEXT
The Javelinas return to the hardwood Saturday, Nov. 12, as they take on Chadron State at 4 p.m. while honoring legendary coach Bill Carter in the SPEC.
Fans can keep up with everything related to Javelina men's basketball in 2022-23 by following @JavelinaMBB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter and Instagram, checking out Texas A&M University-Kingsville Men's Basketball on Facebook, subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel and visiting Javelinaathletics.com.
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