Commerce —
A&M-Kingsville 76 vs. A&M-Commerce 65
In a game marred by the ugly injury of senior point guard LeBree Sledge and the missing presence of senior forward Preston Whitley due to suspension, Texas A&M University-Commerce fell to Texas A&M University-Kingsville for the second time in three days. With the loss, the Lions' 8th in their last 9 games, A&M-Commerce is eliminated from the Lone Star Conference tournament.
When A&M-Commerce and A&M-Kingsville faced off Saturday, the result was a three overtime loss for the Lions. Monday's game was more lopsided.
Senior forward Desmond King, the Lions' leading scorer, left the game early with an apparent back injury. A technical foul on Sledge gave the Javelinas a 7-6 lead, and two free throws by junior guard Ryan Layssard put A&M-Kingsville up by 3 in King's absence. A layup by junior guard Derryl Nash increaed the Javelinas lead to 13-7. Sophomore guard Devondrick Walker hit junior center Mouhamadou N'doye for an alley-oop, but N'doye was called for a technical foul for celebrating.
King re-entered the game with 13 minutes left in the first half, and had an immediate impact, banking in a layup on a pick-and-roll. A trey by junior guard Esteban Arriola cut the lead to 5, but junior guard Aston Brown answered right back with a three of his own.
Nash put A&M-Kingsville up 30-11 with a deep three, and the Lions were unable to halt the parade of Javelina free throws as the visitors led at halftime 38-29 despite outshooting the Javelinas 47.8 percent to 37.5 percent.
Senior guard Brand Hambrick cut the Javelinas' lead to 6 after nailing a transition three from the top of the arc. A&M-Kingsville extended their lead after Brown was fouled shooting a three and made all of his free-throws, but a spirited run by the Lions helped them claw back to within 5. A Hambrick trey cut the lead to 4 minutes later, but three quick baskets by the Javelinas increased the lead to 11 again.
LaBree Sledge tried to help the Lions mount a comeback, coming up with two straight steals. But the senior point guard was severely injured driving to the basket with an apparent leg injury. Sledge was on the ground for 30 minutes as the A&M-Commerce medical staff placed his right leg in an air cast. He was eventually taken off in a stretcher by paramedics, having probably played his last game in a Lions uniform.
A&M-Commerce was unable to mount any kind of comeback, succumbing to the Javelinas 76-65.
A&M-Kingsville women 79 vs. A&M-Commerce women 66
The Texas A&M University-Commerce womens basketball team (1-20) faced off against the Javelinas of Texas A&M University-Kingsville (6-15) for the second time in three days when they hosted the Javelinas at the Field House, falling 79-66. The Lions lost Saturday's game 75-72, and the Lions were even worse Monday night. The loss is the Lions' 17th in a row.
A&M-Commerce got off to an early lead 17-10, thanks to freshman guard Michelle Sutton's 7 early points. But the Javelinas began to chip away at the lead with a three pointer by junior small forward Kaitlyn Lowen and a couple fade-aways by junior center Jackie Stanley. A layup by Lowen tied the game up at 23, and freshman forward Ashley Benavides gave the Javelinas a 31-26 lead with a spinning hook in the lane. An “and-one” by Haven put A&M-Kingsville up by 8 with two minutes in the half, and the Javelinas took a 38-31 lead into half-time.
Sophomore forward Breanna Harris came out of the half on fire, hitting four early layups to bring the Lions to within 5. A&M-Kingsville's full-court press had it's desired effect on the Lions, however, forcing turnover after turnover and ballooning the Javelina lead to 10. A trey by Haven put A&M-Kingsville up 57-46.
Senior guard Shonta Dobbins gave the Javelinas a 13 point lead with a three point play, and junior guard Inekka Stevenson pushed the lead to 16 on A&M-Kingsville's next possession. The Lions continued to struggle maintaining possession, and the Javelinas capitalized by scoring 30 points off of turnovers.
Freshman forward La'Tisha Hearne cut the Javelinas lead to 8 with two minutes left, but A&M-Kingsville easily held to win only their sixth game of the year.
The Lions will host Texas Women's University Saturday, with tip-off at 6 p.m.
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