Kingsville - Texas A&M-Kingsville earned a tightly contested victory over St. Mary's University, 67-65, Saturday from the Steinke Physical Education Center.

With just three seconds left, sophomore forward David Oriaku blocked the would-be game-tying shot attempt from the Rattlers (15-6, 8-5 LSC) and secured the defensive rebound to give the Javelinas (11-11, 8-6 LSC) a much-needed win to keep them in the hunt for a spot in the Lone Star Conference tournament. 

Oriaku was not the only one to make a clutch play in this contest. With just 36 seconds left, TJ Ford Jr. was able to connect on a putback jumper after an offensive rebound from Bryson Goldsmith. That made field goal would put the Javelinas up by just one point, with Allen Singleton making it a two-point lead after converting on a late-game free-throw attempt. 

The entire second half was as closely contested as the closing minutes. The Javelinas would get their largest lead of the game at 7 points with 16:10 left to go after a Jadon Sautter jump shot. St. Mary's came roaring back however, going on an 8-1 run to tie the game at 44 with 12:10 left in the game. The Javelinas hung around afterwards, never letting the Rattlers build more than a three-point lead before retaking the game with a vicious dunk by Oriaku off a Bryce Smith assist with 5:38 left to go.

Smith would then have his fingerprints all over the game in the following two minutes. Despite not scoring a single point, the court vision and opportunistic defense led to five consecutive-late points that would put the Javelinas up by three with 2:32 left in the game. Smith matched a career-high with eight assists in this contest to go along with another pair of steals.

Texas A&M-Kingsville was once again able to win the turnover battle in this contest with a five-turnover differential. That led the Javelinas to outpace St. Mary's on the break, scoring six more points on fast-break attempts than the Rattlers.

Nate Garcia led the Javelinas with 13 points while Sautter finished in double-figures as well with twelve. Oriaku finished his big way with a team-high nine rebounds to go with seven points, while Single chipped in with an efficient nine points on just six shots.

Texas A&M-Kingsville hits the road to northwest Texas to take on Lubbock Christian University. Fans of the Javelinas can watch the game on FloCollege or follow that game at JavelinaMBB on X.
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