KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball team is back out on the road after a short home stint as they get ready for round two against the St. Edward's Hilltoppers and the St. Mary's Rattlers.
The Javelinas (5-13, LSC 3-10) are coming off of a 1-1 weekend with two thrilling games against Western and Eastern New Mexico, with both contests coming down to the final possession.
Tipoff against St. Edward's is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1. Afterwards, the Hogs make the trip to San Antonio for tipoff against St. Mary's on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m.
Last time out against the Hilltoppers and Rattlers, the Javelinas faced similar thrillers, finding victory against St. Mary's in overtime on a buzzer beater then falling to St. Edward's in the same way in regulation.
C.J. Smith had an explosive weekend against WNMU and ENMU, totaling 44 points over the two games, including 28 against ENMU. Likewise, Smith led the squad in assists with nine and tied in steals with three.
Allen Singleton also had a good weekend offensively with 21 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Kendrick Washington and
Jordan Henderson put in great defensive performances. Henderson finish five blocks over the two games as well as three steals and eight rebounds. Washington tallied up two apiece of blocks and steals while also bringing down 12 total rebounds.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
St. Edward's is an even 3-3 over their last six games. Last time out the Hilltoppers downed UTPB but fell to Angelo State.
Four Hilltoppers are averaging 10.0 or more points per game. Sean Elkinton is still the team's top scorer with 18.2 PPG.
Elkinton has put up seven double-doubles this season and leads the team in rebounding.
Similarly, Blake Nielson has posted two double-doubles of his own as well as a triple-double. Nielson also leads the team in assists.
SEU's defense has been solid all season, beating out their opponents in rebounding while also forcing nearly 50 more turnovers than their opposition.
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
St. Mary's is on a two-game losing streak after dropping both of their previous matchups to UTPB and ASU.
Likewise to SEU, the Rattlers have four players averaging 10.0 or more pointers per game, led by Davion Coleman at 15.2.
Keith Dinwiddie and Tyler Caron are the main threats from deep for the Rattlers, with both averaging above 40% from deep on more than 75 shots.
The Rattlers have been in almost a statistical dead heat with their opposition. Their per-game margins in scoring, assists, and rebounding stands at 0.4, -1.8, and 1.9 respectively.
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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