KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Lone Star Conference is back in action after the holiday break as the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team welcomes St. Mary's and St. Edward's to town for the team's first LSC matchups of 2024. The Javelinas meet the St. Mary's Rattlers on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and the Hilltoppers of St. Edward's on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Javelinas (2-8, LSC 0-5) are coming off a battle against Mary Hardin-Baylor in a New Year's Eve exhibition matchup where the Hogs came away with the win in overtime, 82-74.
Jason Clark had a great performance his last time out against UMHB, totaling 16 points and seven rebounds – tied with
Jordan Henderson for most on the team. Both totals would have been season-highs for Clark were stats counted for the game.
C.J. Smith continued to be the main spark of the Javelina offense, leading the Hogs in scoring and assists on the afternoon with 18 points and six assists. He also grabbed two steals on the defensive end of the floor.
Zyon Little put up impressive numbers as well as the freshman racked up 12 points of his own alongside six rebounds, as well as a steal and a block apiece.
Overall, as a team, the Javelinas totaled up nine blocks and 11 steals on the afternoon as well as 18 offensive rebounds.
The Hogs are quite familiar with the Rattlers and the Hilltoppers, leading the series against St. Mary's 19-12 and tied with St. Edward's 10-10.
TAMUK has won their last two of three against St. Edward's and has dominated the recent series against St. Mary's, going 9-1 over the last 10 matchups.
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
St. Mary's snapped a four-game losing streak just before the winter break against Dominican University, 78-69.
The Rattlers have proved a balanced threat on offense with five different players averaging 10.0 or more points per game.
Keith Dinwiddie and Tyler Caron will be threats from behind the arc, averaging 41.3 and 40.4 percent respectively from downtown.
The Rattlers have played their opposition close all season with their average margins in scoring, rebounding, and assists standing at -0.1, 2.6, and -2.9 respectively.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
St. Edward's is 4-2 in their last six games, splitting LSC play an even 2-2 over the span.
Similarly to the Rattlers, the Hilltoppers have four players averaging more than 10.0 PPG, led by Sean Elkinton at 19.42 PPG.
Elkinton has proven to be the main threat of the Hilltopper attack, putting up six double-doubles so far this season.
Blake Nielson has posted a double-double of his own, as well as a triple-double his last time out against Arlington Baptist.
The Hilltoppers have had trouble holding onto the ball at certain points this season, giving up 77 steals and coming up against a Javelina squad averaging 9.1 steals per game.
Follow the Javelinas all season long by visiting javelinaathletics.com to find links to live stats and streaming information as well as a recap at the end of each contest. To keep up-to-date with Javelina Men's Basketball, follow the program on Facebook /JavelinaMBB or on X @JavelinaMBB. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network.
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