KINGSVILLE, Texas – Junior Will Chayer (Corpus Christi, Texas) tossed in a game-winning put-back with 1.3 seconds remaining and the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team pulled out a 59-58 barnburner over the Midwestern State Mustangs on Thursday night in Lone Star Conference action at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
This makes back-to-back wins for the Javelinas who are now 13-8 overall, 4-6 in the LSC and currently own the 12th and final spot in the conference tournament. MSU is 11-14 overall and 7-6 in league play.
Junior Creighton Avery (Corpus Christi, Texas) led the Hogs in scoring, matching his season-high with 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Junior Jordan Wilson (Blytheville, Texas) posted a team-high five rebounds and Chayer topped the TAMUK leaderboard in assists with three.
The Javelinas led by double figures multiple times in the first half and grabbed an eight-point advantage by scoring the first points of the second half, but MSU scored nine of the next 13 to close within three at 39-36.
After the Hogs pushed their edge back to seven, a 17-4 Mustang run catapulted the visitors into the lead, 56-50 with just 2:10 on the clock and they still led by five with 1:12 remaining, but that's when the Javelinas started their own comeback.
Two MSU free throws put the visitors ahead 58-53, but Smith brought the Hogs within three by knocking down a jumper with 58 seconds to play. TAMUK then got a stop and Smith again went to the basket for a pair, making the score 58-57 as the clock showed 24 seconds.
A foul given by TAMUK put MSU's Terrell Wilson on the line for a 1-and-1, and when the front end missed the mark, the Javs had a chance to go for the win. A Marcus Jones (Cheneyville, La.) three was off, but Chayer was waiting under basket for the rebound and the go-ahead put-back. Once the Hogs defensed MSU's last-gasp inbound play, TAMUK had its 13th win.
The Javelinas will take the court at home one more time in the regular season, hosting DBU at 4 p.m. on Saturday. 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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