RICHARDSON, Texas/LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M – Kingsville's men's basketball team is heading to Frisco, Texas for the Lone Star Conference Championship as the number two overall seed next week after securing the top spot of the East Division.
The Javelinas received the No. 2 seed by securing a East Division title and tiebreaker over St. Edward's with a 10-4 mark. Texas A&M-Kingsville will play No. 7 seed St. Mary's (15-12, 12-10) at 2:30 p.m. on March, 3 in the quarterfinals.
This comes despite falling to the Texas A&M-International Dustdevils in a battle that was decided by one point, 65-64.
"Rivalry games at any time year are difficult, but this one was tough because of everything on the line," said head coach Johnny Estelle. "In terms of Frisco, we have to watch the film and fix our mistakes both offensively and defensively. I believe in these young men and know that they will be eager to represent the Javelina Nation at the LSC Tournament."
The game against the Dustedevils was a thriller similar to the two team's meeting earlier in the week that was won by TAMUK.
The game was nip-and-tuck for much of the game, and came down to the wire as the Javelinas were able to tie the game at 63-63 with 1:23 left on the clock courtesy of a layup by Isaiah Payne.
TAMIU's Jermaine Drewey made only one of two free throws with twenty seconds left before Payne drew a foul driving sending him to the line. The Ville Platte, La. Native missed the first, but sunk the second tying the game with 8 seconds remaining.
The Dustdevils got to the line one more time however with hardly any time remaining, sinking the one necessary free throw to take the game, 65-64 as the Javs were unable to get a shot off following rebounding the missed second free throw.
Payne led the way for the Javelinas in the loss posting another double-digit performance with 18 points going 6-of-7 from the field and 6-of-9 from the charity stripe.
TAMUK now prepares for the No. 7 seeded St. Mary's in the Quarterfinals of the LSC Tournament. The Javs and Rattlers split the season series against one another with both games being decided by six and three points respectively.
The Hogs' 62-59 loss to the Rattlers back on Jan. 28 was the team's first loss against the San Antonio squad in nine previous meetings.
To keep up with the Javelinas all season long visit javelinaathletics.com to find links to live stats and streaming information as well as a recap at the end of each contest. Fans can learn more about the Javelina men's basketball team 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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