KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team is set headed to the NCAA South Central Regional to take on regional host and No. 1 seed West Texas A&M on Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Javelinas enter the tournament as the No. 8 seed, seeking to add to what is already a historic season for the program where they have qualified for the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever. A win would be the program's first since the 1991-92 season and only the second all-time.
Tickets for Saturday's quarterfinal and the whole regional tournament can be purchased through the WTAMU Ticket Office here. Fans should note that the Javelinas' matchup against the Buffs is considered the second session of the quarterfinals.
"We haven't beaten them in a while, and we haven't gotten a tournament win in a while," said senior forward Will Chayer. "I think we have a really talented team that has grown a lot since the last time we played them. It would mean a lot to get a win on Saturday."
TAMUK's and WT's meeting in the regional quarterfinal pits the Lone Star Conference East and West Division champions against one another in a re-match from the team's previous meeting on Dec. 8 which WT won, 71-65.
The Javelinas currently sit sixth in all of Division II in turnover margin and 18th in turnovers forced per game.
Offensively, All-LSC Second-Team member C.J. Smith leads the Javs into the tournament. Smith, a junior guard averages a team best 11.4 points per game shooting 39.7 percent from the field and totaling 80 assists starting in all 30 games this season for TAMUK. Additionally, the Mansfield, Texas native recorded 36 steals across the regular season helping the Javelinas to an all-time program-best turnover margin.
No. 1 seed WT, hosts the South Central Regional coming off an LSC Tournament Championship title, the program's sixth consecutive.
The Buffs are led by Tom Brown who earned the LSC Co-Coach of the Year honor for his fourth time while in Canyon, sharing the honor with Angelo State's Vinay Patel this season.
On the court, WT boasts a talented roster that includes the LSC Player of the Year, Julius Brown, Newcomer of the Year Damion Thornton, and the league's Sixth Man of the Year Zach Toussaint.
As a team, the Buffs get to the free throw line more than any other team in Division II along with shooting the 19th best percentage from the line.
Filling out the region, Fort Lewis drew the No. 2 seed and will face the No. 7 seed, Lubbock Christian. Third-seeded Colorado School of Mines starts its NCAA tournament against the sixth-seed, Black Hills State. Angelo State and Colorado Mesa will meet in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup.
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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