KINGSVILLE, Texas – The St. Mary's University men's basketball team showed some fight on Thursday night against the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas but fell just short, losing by a score of 70-56. The Rattlers fall to (1-3, 1-3) on the season.
St. Mary's out-rebounded the Javelinas, 38-30. The Rattlers shot 36 percent from the field while Texas A&M-Kingsville shot 46 percent.
After trailing 10-2 just six minutes into the game, the Rattlers went on an 8-2 run to get within two points, 12-10. A good jumper by the Javelinas made it a 14-10 contest but
Tyler Caron knocked down a triple, making it 14-13. Texas A&M-Kingsville ended the half on a 19-6 run to take a 33-19 advantage into the locker room.
Tyler Caron was red-hot to start the game as he scored 11 of the team's first 13 points. Caron led all scorers at the break with 11 points. Caron finished with a career-high 17 points.
The Rattlers committed 15 turnovers in the opening half that resulted in 17 Javelina points.
St. Mary's dialed up the pressure on the defensive end, forcing the Javelinas into five turnovers in the first six minutes of the second half. The Rattlers were able to cut their deficit to seven points on two different occasions but the Texas A&M-Kingsville offense got hot and built their lead back to 15 with just over 13 minutes left in the game.
Trailing by 20 with 11:26 to play, the Rattlers trimmed the Javelina lead to 10 points but would not get any closer, eventually falling by 14 points.
Mamady Djikine turned in a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards while
Norman Beckford added 12 points.
The two teams take to the court on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. inside Bill Greehey Arena on the campus of St. Mary's. Fans are not permitted inside Bill Greehey Arena at this time. To watch the action live, tune into the
Lone Star Conference Digital Network.
