Alpine, TX - Texas A&M-Kingsville wraps up their west-bound road trip in Alpine to take on Sul Ross State Saturday from the Gallego Center.

The Javelinas (9-10, 6-5 LSC) are coming off a tough finish against Western New Mexico, where they had a chance to tie the game in the waning seconds but were not able to convert the shot to make it a 60-all game. The Lobos (4-12, 2-9 LSC) however are coming into Saturday's contest with some positive momentum, taking down Texas A&M-International 66-41 on Thursday.

Texas A&M-Kingsville is no stranger to the Gallegos Center, traveling to the Lobos' building last year and taking down Sul Ross 73-58. Now the Javelinas travel there with their spot in the conference tournament potentially hanging in the balance, as they currently sit in a tie for the seventh seed with West Texas A&M with just nine games to go.

A welcome sight for the Javelinas in the recent stretch has been a return of the chaos-creating defense that the team hangs their hats on. The Javelinas held Western New Mexico to their lowest shooting percentage of the season and forced 14 turnovers, thanks in large part to four steals from Bryce Smith. Smith, who has a LSC defensive player of the week title to his name, marked his eighth game with three-plus steals this season.

On the other side of the ball, the Javelinas have been receiving massive contributions from senior guard Nate Garcia, who led all scorers with 18 points last contest. Garcia notched his third game in double-figures against the Mustangs, all of which came in the last five games. Garcia is not alone in having a nice season for the Javelinas however, as TJ Ford Jr. has turned into quite the offensive weapon off the bench scoring in the twenties twice thus far this season.

A big game might be on the horizon for the guard duo, as Sul Ross State allows the second highest field-goal percentage in the conference at 47.7 percent. The Lobo defense however is very proficient at forcing opponent turnovers, posting a positive 1.38 turnover margin this season, good enough for eighth in the conference.

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