Kingsville - Texas A&M-Kingsville looks to get its first win in conference play on the board as it takes on UT-Tyler Saturday from the Steinke Physical Education Center.

The Javelinas (3-3, 0-1 LSC) are coming off a tough loss in the conference opener to reigning Lone Star Conference Champion Dallas Baptist University. Now Texas A&M-Kingsville seeks a bounce-back performance against the Patriots (4-1, 0-1 LSC) who are also looking to get back in the win column after dropping their conference opener to Texas A&M-International.

In recent years, this matchup has favored the Javelinas with the past six matchups going the way of Texas A&M-Kingsville. UT-Tyler is much different compared to the previous matchups however, as the Patriots boast a core of freshmen in Jacob Bell and Noah Suarjaya who are both averaging over 10 points per game in the starting lineup.

The Javelinas are getting some help in their rotation with the season debuts of Daniel Sanchez, Marc Eyeman and Bryce Cook. The trio will add important minutes to an already deep rotation that features the two leading scorers for the Javelinas in TJ Ford Jr and true freshman Jadon Sautter.

Ball handling will need to be a key factor for the Javelinas in order to secure a win against UT-Tyler, as an uncharacteristically high turnover game for Texas A&M-Kingsville was a factor that led to their demise. Junior Guard Bryce Smith was still effective however, tying a season-high in assists with eight. 

Tip-off for Saturday's contest is set for 3:00 pm from the SPEC. Fans of the Javelinas can watch the game on FloCollege or follow the game at JavelinaMBB on X.