Wichita Falls, Tx - Texas A&M-Kingsville completed a 17-point comeback to take down Midwestern State, 85-78, in a critical Lone Star Conference matchup.

The Mustangs (8-15, 6-10 LSC) took a 17-point lead with a midrange jumper that made the score 21-38. From there, the Javelinas (12-12, 9-7 LSC) outscored MSU 64-40 for the remainder of the contest. The win now puts the Javelinas three games up on the three closest teams in the Lone Star Conference and puts them in a tremendous spot the make the LSC tournament.

Daniel Sanchez erupted in this contest for the Javelinas to spark the comeback, scoring a career-best 20 points with three made baskets from behind the arc. Sanchez was also a factor defensively, notching five rebounds and a steal. To kick off the comeback win, Sanchez opened up the second half, where the Javelinas were trailing by 11, with back-to-back three's to make it a seven point game early on in the half. 

Midwestern would not let the Javelinas back into the contest so easily however, as they would get their lead right back to 13 points after a made three-point basket. The Javelinas kept chipping away at the lead slowly until an Allen Singleton-and-one layup and a Sanchez layup on the break put them right back in striking distance only down by five.

Another factor that aided the Javelinas in their comeback was their offensive rebounding. Texas A&M-Kingsville had nine more offensive boards than MSU leading to nine second chance points for the Javelinas. A second-chance layup by Jadon Sautter with 7:19 left made in a three-point game which was quickly followed by a great finish by Bryson Goldsmith that drew a foul to make it a 61-61 ball game.

The lead officially became the Javelians' after a steal-and-score opportunity from Bryce Smith made it a 65-64 contest with just over five minutes to go. Sautter would seemingly stick the dagger into the Mustangs a couple minutes later, as his three-ball would fall to give the Javelinas a 70-66 lead with just over three minutes to go. Midwestern tied it right back up however at 70-70 before Singleton entered takeover mode, scoring five straight points to take the lead for good and get an all-important conference win with just four games remaining.

Sanchez led all scorers with 20 points, Singleton finished not too far behind with 19 while Sautter and Goldsmith finished in double-figures with 13 and 11 respectively. Smith nearly had a triple-double in this game, scoring eight points while leading the team with seven rebounds and nine assists, a career-high for him.

Texas A&M-Kingsville returns back to Kingsville for the final homestead of the season against West Texas A&M Thursday at 7:30 pm. Fans of the Javelinas can watch the game on FloCollege or follow the action at JavelinaMBB on X.  Read Full Article