Silver City, N.M – Men's Basketball heads to San Angelo and Kingsville Texas for their final road series of the season. The Mustang men will need to win out in hopes of making the conference tournament.
 
 
LAST TIME OUT:
 
The Mustangs defended home court last weekend against Midwestern State Thursday, and Cameron on Saturday. The Battle of the Mustangs came down to the last seconds, ultimately in favor of MSU. Western played light out in the first half, going into the break with a 43-32 edge, shooting 46% from the floor, 40% beyond the arc, and 64% from the foul line. WNMU however would come out flat in the second half, whereas their opponents could not miss going nearly perfect from three-point range. Made free throws by Jordan Enriquez (El Paso, TX/Bel Air) put his team within two, but unable to close the gap as time ran out.
Jon-Reese Woodson (Corpus Christi, TX/Carroll) finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. Enriquez, and Eddie Giron (Monterrey, Mexico/Harmony Science Academy) were the other two Mustangs in double-digits.
Saturday proved to be another close matchup with the visiting Aggies of Cameron University. The Aggies led by six with 3 minutes left in the first half after a dunk by Jalen Nicholas. Jordan Enriquez (El Paso, TX/Bel Air) knocked down a three-pointer seconds later to put WNMU within three. CJ Vanbeekum (Phoenix, AZ/Paradise) added another three with seconds left to tie the game, followed by a steal and layup from Willie McCray (Clovis, NM/Clovis/Westwind Prep Academy) to put WNMU up 34-32 at the half.
Western maintained their lead throughout the second, going up by as many seven. Made free throws came in clutch for the Mustangs late, as the Aggies last second attempt to tie fell short. CJ Vanbeekum (Phoenix, AZ/Paradise) posted 17 points behind 5-6 shooting beyond the arc. Amarion Cash (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe) finished with a season best 15 points, going 3-5 from beyond the arc and 4-4 from the free throw line. Willie McCray (Clovis, NM/Clovis/Westwind Prep Academy) added 13 points, while Jon-Reese Woodson (Corpus Christi, TX/Carroll) tallied a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE RAMS: 


The Rams of Angelo State (16-7, 9-5 LSC) are riding a two game losing streak after falling to West Texas and Eastern New Mexico on the road last weekend.
Outscoring their opponents by a 6.7 margin, ASU sits third overall behind Texas A&M – Commerce and West Texas A&M. Junior guard Ronald Bell leads all scorers with 13.0 ppg, scoring above ten in all but five games this season. Bell's 7.2 rebounds also leads the team's defensive efforts.
The Mustangs will also face James Kirsksey, who leads the conference in steals with 2.2 a game. Kirskey also facilitates the offense with 2.7 assists a game.

HISTORY VERSUS THE RAMS:


Their meeting earlier this season in Silver City saw the Rams take home an 87-64 win, behind a 23 point performance from Klair Crouch. The Mustangs will look for a repeat performance from last season when they defeated the Rams in San Angelo 77-72.
Historically the teams have been closer in their second meeting compared to the first. ASU holds 4-1 advantage in the series.

SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS:


Texas A&M – Kingsville (10-12, 6-8 LSC) will look to snap a five-game losing streak. Dating back almost a month, the Javelinas beat Cameron 70-44 in Kingsville and have yet to win since. With a 5-5 record at home it could be either team's game.
True freshman, Darius Mickens leads the TAMUK offense with 10.5 ppg, with a 49.2 shooting percentage. Robert Stevenson takes care of the Javelina defense grabbing 7.4 boards to lead the team, adding 1.7 blocks for a second place spot in the conference standings.

HISTORY VERSUS THE JAVELINAS:
  
Since joining the Lone Star, Kingsville has won every meeting with the Mustangs. In their last meeting on Jan. 17^, Rashaun Thomas scored a game high 22-points, 5-11 from three-point range. Mickens finished with 13 points, behind 6-12 shooting.
 
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m (CST) Thursday, and 4 p.m. (CST) on Saturday. Live stats and video stream will be provided.