Kingsville - Texas A&M-Kingsville could not overcome a late run by Lubbock Christian in the first half as they fell, 63-75, on Senior Night Saturday.
Senior
Isaiah Payne and graduate student
Nate Lacewell were honored before tip-off as part of the senior day celebrations. Texas A&M-Kingsville men's basketball also honored past and the most recent hall of fame honorees in today's game.
The Javelinas (11-16, 7-14 LSC) led the Chaparrals (22-6, 17-3 LSC) 25-24 with just under three minutes in the first half thanks to a flurry from
Jake Arnold, who hit three first-half threes. However, LCU scored the final ten points in the half and the Javelinas were not able to close the distance from that point on.
Heading into the second half, the Javelinas traded buckets with the Chaps early. A steal from Payne led to a fast-break layup that cut the lead to five with 18:08 left in the second half. That was the closest the Javelinas would get to closing the lead however, as LCU opened up a 15-3 run in the subsequent minutes that would get the game out of reach for the Javelinas.
The Javelinas were able to hold the Chaparrals to just 6-17 shooting from beyond the three-point line in the first half while they themselves shot 40 percent in that metric. However, LCU shot 44 percent in the second half and 51 percent overall while holding the Javelinas to just 40 percent shooting in that half.
Payne led the Javelinas with 14 points, Arnold contributed 13 points and
James Livingston finished in double figures with 10.
Zyon Little finished with a team-high six boards and
Nate Garcia led the team with three assists.
Texas A&M-Kingsville finishes its season at home against Texas A&M-International Thursday at 7:30 p.m. CST for faculty appreciation night. Fans of the Javelinas can watch live on FloCollege or follow live coverage at JavelinaMBB on Twitter.
