ODESSA, Texas – Freshman Marcus Jones (Cheneyville, La.) and junior Creighton Avery (Corpus Christi, Texas) were among four players who scored in double figures for a Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team that posted its second-highest shooting percentage of the season in a 77-69 triumph over the UT Permian Basin Falcons on Saturday evening in Lone Star Conference action at the Falcon Dome in Odessa, Texas.
This victory boosts TAMUK's record to 12-8 and they are now 3-6 in the LSC. UT Permian Basin drops to 14-10 overall and 6-6 in conference.
"UTPB is a well-coached team with good players," said coach Johnny Estelle. "For us to be able to get a win on the road, it took everyone contributing at a winning level. Thankfully, that is what happened tonight."
Jones was almost perfect from the field, knocking down 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, on his way to a career-high 17 points. Avery shot 6-of-9 from the floor, handed out a team-best four assists and set a season-high with 16 points.
"Marcus Jones played exceptionally well today," said Estelle. "He was very efficient on offense and from the three-point line. His best attributes are his ability to defend and the plays that do not make the stat sheet, but impact winning.
"Creighton Avery led our team tonight and gave us a complete game. He ran the team and scored the ball at an efficient level and defended at a high level. Derek Luna was huge as well. He made some huge plays at both ends of the floor."
The Hogs' scoring efforts also benefited from a day in which junior Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) hit 5-of-6 shots for 15 points and an 11-point afternoon from sophomore C.J. Smith (Mansfield, Texas) Chayer and Smith grabbed six rebounds each to tie for the team lead and Chayer added two blocked shots and two steals.
"I thought Will Chayer was phenomenal in every phase of the game," said Estelle. "With Dayante [McClellan] out, he had to play extended minutes and performed well. He impacted the team with energy and vocal leadership tonight."
The game's early momentum belonged to the Falcons, who took a 9-2 lead and owned a 15-9 edge later in the half. TAMUK responded with back-to-back threes from sophomore Jake Majors (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Jones to start an 8-0 run to grab the lead.
A response from the Falcons came in the form of a run of their own, consisting of 10 straight points and they eventually went ahead 28-19. Soon after UTPB's burst, the momentum swung back to the Hogs, who outscored their hosts 13-5 over a three-and-a-half minute stretch to slice their deficit to one, before the Falcons took a 38-36 lead into halftime.
The Javelinas prevented UTPB from pushing their lead beyond four points in the second half, but the Falcons were still up one with 11:30 to play. That's when the Hogs grabbed the lead for good. Another deep splash from Jones started a 10-2 spurt that propelled the Javs in front by seven, their largest lead in the game to that point.
Scores from both sides followed and two DeJuan Jones foul shots cut the visitors' lead to five. Then Jones swished his fourth and final trey of the day and senior Tre Flowers (Bryan, Texas) followed it with a three-pointer of his own. When Avery also connected from deep with 2:59 on the clock, the Javs owned a 73-59 advantage and despite a late comeback attempt by the Falcons, TAMUK held on for win No. 12 in 2021-22.
"In all," said Estelle, "I'm very proud of our guys. These young men have endured a lot this semester, but they keep getting back up through adversity. Now that is demonstrating Javelina pride!"
On Thursday, the Javelinas will begin their final regular season weekend at home with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against Midwestern State. 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.
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