KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team has returned to the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament and for the fifth-seeded Javelinas to continue making their mark in postseason play like they did in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, they will first have to get past the fourth-seeded Colorado Mesa Mavericks, who they'll take on at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Rip Griffin Center in Lubbock, Texas.
The Hogs carved out a spot for themselves in the NCAA Tournament with three straight victories in the Lone Star Conference Tournament, including an LSC Semifinal win over top-seeded and No. 4 Lubbock Christian, the highest-ranked opponent the Javelinas have ever defeated. That run put the Javs in the national tournament for the third time in six years and seventh time overall.
There were a long list of contributors during TAMUK's run to the LSC Tournament Final and three of the players on that list were juniors Creighton Avery (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Jordan Wilson (Blytheville, Ark.) and freshman Marcus Jones (Cheneyville, La.), All three posted scoring averages in double figures in the conference tournament and each also set a new season-high for points in Frisco. So far in the postseason, this group is shooting 57 percent from the floor and 17-of-35 on threes, while Avery's 15 assists represent a team-high.
Senior Dayante McClellan (Austin, Texas) spent the conference tournament filling up just about every category on the stat sheet, posting an average of 7.3 rebounds per game, shooting nearly 65 percent from the field, handing out eight assists and tying for the team lead in blocked shots and steals. McClellan had his best day against the Chaps, piling up 11 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double as a Javelina. The senior from Austin was joined by Wilson on the LSC's All-Tournament Team.
The Mavericks were the No. 1 seed in the South Central Regional in 2021 and started the 2021-22 season ranked as the No. 4 team in the nation. While they're no longer national ranked, CMU earned its third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament by racking up 24 victories and their 17-5 record in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference was good enough to place them second in the league standings.
Five different Mavericks earned spots on the All-RMAC roster, including freshman Trevor Baskin, who finished the regular season as one of the conference's best shot blockers and was among his team's leaders in scoring and rebounding. Another CMU freshman, guard Blaise Threatt lead the squad in points and rebounds, finished second on the roster in assists and steals and reached the 20-point plateau seven times in 2021-22.
Live coverage of the Javelinas' NCAA Tournament game, including links to live stats and live video can be found on Javelinaathletics.com, where a recap will also be published after the final buzzer. Stay up-to-date with everything related to Javelina men's basketball in the lead up to the NCAA Tournament 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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