KINGSVILLE, Texas - In a battle between two stout defenses on A&I Heritage Night, the Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball came alive in the second half to pull away late and pull off the victory over the UT Tyler Patriots on Thursday night, 55-47.
The Javelinas (6-17, LSC 4-14) snap a five-game losing streak and sweep the season series over UT Tyler. The Patriots (3-20, LSC 2-15) drop their fourth in a row and ninth in their last ten.
Both teams had trouble getting going in the first half as the Javelinas missed their first five shots before
Nate Garcia finally kickstarted the offense, putting the first seven points on the board for the Hogs. The Patriots managed to open up an eight point lead with four minutes remaining in the half, where both squads put up less than thirty points.
The Javelinas shot 6-of-26 from the field in the first stanza and 1-of-9 from deep as both defenses put on stellar performances. The UTT offense did not fair much better, going 10-of-34 from the field and 3-of-13 from three-point range.
To open the second half, the Patriots seemed to find a rhythm, expanding their lead to the largest of the night at the 15 minute mark, 32-23. Fortunately for the Javelinas, they managed to flip the script from the first half and started catching fire from deep. After missing their first five three-point attempts of the half, the Hogs finished the game shooting 7-of-12 from three in the last 15 minutes to close the gap and take the lead for themselves. Defense did not slack for the Hogs either down the stretch as they held the Patriots scoreless through the last 4:13 of the game to take the win, 55-47.
C.J. Smith posted the highest scoring total and the highest assist on the night for TAMUK, finishing with 12 points and five assists, as well as two rebounds and two steals. Smith has snagged at least two steals in 14 games this season.
Garcia finished with seven points and put up three rebounds, as well as being an anchor for the stout Javelina defense all night.
Jason Clark came up with clutch plays in the closing minutes of the game, sinking three free throws in the final minute to secure the Javelina lead, finishing with eight points, a steal, and two rebounds.
Kendrick Washington,
Marcus Jones-Green, and
Kavon Booker all totaled six points in the game with all three being the top three rebounders for the squad on the night. Booker led the team with eight while Washington and Jones-Green were right behind him with six and five board respectively.
UP NEXT
The Javelinas welcome their second set of Patriots to the SPEC on Saturday afternoon as they take on No. 4 Dallas Baptist at 3 p.m. The game is also scheduled to be Senior Night.
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.
Get the Official Javelina Athletics Mobile App today! Download on the App Store or Get It on Google Play to keep up with all the news, scores and updates of your favorite teams.
