Mustangs Travel to Texas A&M - Commerce and Tarleton State for Road Series

Men's Basketball 1/23/2019 1:09:00 PM

Mustangs Travel to Texas A&M - Commerce and Tarleton State for Road Series

Silver City, NM—After a tough home series against Texas A&M – Kingsville and Angelo State, the Mustang men hit the road in search of their first conference win. Facing off against Texas A&M – Commerce and Tarleton State.

LAST TIME OUT:

In their first game of the weekend, The Mustangs (3-11, 0-7 LSC) trailed by ten to Kingsville going into the half.

Leston Gordon (Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago/Tunapuna Government Secondary) got the crowd roaring after throwing down a dunk, curtesy of CJ Vanbeekum (Phoenix, AZ/Paradise). Throughout the second half, the Mustangs kept it close. A three from Jordan Enriquez (El Paso, TX/Bel Air) narrowed the lead to four.

The Javelinas would go up by as much as 11, but one last three-pointer from Davis Wade (Jackson, MS/Will C Wood) cut the lead to nine as time ran out and Kingsville took home a 70-61 win.

In the battle with top-seeded Angelo State, the Rams wasted no time getting on the board. A slow start for the Mustangs saw them go down by as many as 25. On their last possession before the break, Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe) connected from beyond the arc to keep the Mustangs in the game.

The second half saw the teams go head to head, with the Mustangs narrowly outscoring their opponents 37-36 but unable to close the gap as the Rams took an 87-64 win.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:

Texas A&M – Commerce enters the match 14-3 overall, 6-1 through LSC play. Their first loss of the season came at the hands of West Texas. The Lions bounced back, defeating Eastern New Mexico the following Saturday.

With the fourth leading scorer in Reggie Reid, who averages 15.5 points per game, the senior guard leads the Lions who are tied for third in the current regional rankings. Adding to his offensive efforts, Reid dishes out 4.8 assists a game. Teammate, Tyree Robinson comings in 10^th in the LSC scoring ranks with 13.9 ppg, but first in field goal percentage hitting 74.6 percent from the floor. Robinson does it on the defensive end as well, with 21 blocked shots on the season his 1.3 average ranks fourth in the conference.

HISTORY VERSUS THE LIONS:

Second year head coach Jaret Von Rosenburg led his team to a 22-9 record last season, reaching the second round of the South Central Regional Tournament.

Last season saw the teams meet twice, the second time the Mustangs forced an overtime thriller. Willie McCray (Clovis, NM/Clovis/Westwind Prep Academy) and Davis Wade (Jackson, MS/Will C Wood) finished in double-digits with 20 and 23 points respectively. Enriquez also finished in double-digits, but it wasn't enough as the Lions prevailed 93-87.

The Lions have won all four meetings with the Mustangs since joining in 2016.

SCOUTING THE TEXANS:

The Mustangs will have the tall task of taking on the number one scorer in Josh Hawley. Hawley leads his team and the LSC with 18.2 points per game, and a 60.1 field goal percentage. He also leads the defense, averaging 10.1 rebounds per game.

Each team looks to break their losing streak this weekend, after the Texans fell on the road to West Texas and Eastern New Mexico.

HISTORY VERSUS THE TEXANS:

Under first year head coach, Chris Reisman, Tarleton will aim to build on their 19-11 record last season. The Texans finished last season with a 12-6 record for a fourth place finish, falling in the semi-finals of the conference tournament to UT – Permian Basin.

Taking both meetings last year, the Texans took home a 66-49 victory in Silver City. JR Woodson, Wade and Enriquez all finished in double-digits.

BREAKING THE STREAK:

Looking to break their losing streak, the Mustang men have yet to put all the pieces together. Seniors, JR Woodson and Willie McCray (Clovis, NM/Clovis/Westwind Prep Academy) lead the offensive efforts. Leston Gordon (Tunapuna, Trinidad and Tobago/Tunapuna Government Secondary) helped the offensive groove this weekend, draining 16 points against Kingsville.

The youth have proven themselves early on, with Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe) and Tony Avalos (Las Cruces, NM/Onate) contributing for the Mustangs. Avalos finished with 10 points against Angelo State, hitting 4-6 from the floor. Cash finished the weekend with 16 points, five rebounds, a block and a steal.

Games are set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Texas A&M – Commerce, followed by a 4 p.m. tip-off at Tarleton State on Saturday. Games are scheduled according to Central Standard time. Live stats and video stream will be provided by the host institutions.

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Players Mentioned

#15 Jordan Enriquez: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#23 Willie McCray: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#14 CJ Vanbeekum: G/F; 6' 5"; Junior

#5 Davis Wade: G; 6' 1"; Senior

#24 Amarion Cash: G; 6' 3"; Freshman

#12 Leston Gordon: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#4 Tony Avalos: G; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#15 Jordan Enriquez
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#23 Willie McCray
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#14 CJ Vanbeekum
: 6' 5"; Junior
: G/F

#5 Davis Wade
: 6' 1"; Senior
: G

#24 Amarion Cash
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: G

#12 Leston Gordon
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#4 Tony Avalos
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: G