No. 23 DBU cruises to 88-67 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville - Lone Star Conference Skip To Main Content

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No. 23 DBU cruises to 88-67 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville

Championship Central
 
By NICK EATMAN
 
FRISCO, Texas –  While it certainly wasn’t the same type of game the two teams played just five days ago, the end result was the still same for No. 1 seed Dallas Baptist.

The Patriots cruised into the LSC Championship Tournament semifinals with an 88-67 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville Thursday night at Comerica Center. The Javelinas were still outmatched, but put up much more of a fight than last Saturday’s 94-47 loss in the regular-season finale between the two.

DBU, the LSC regular-season champion, have now won 10 straight games to improve to 25-6. While this one was much more of a fight, the Patriots still put on quite a show in opening defense of last year’s tournament title. Ignited by a deep bench and constant-rotation of players, the Patriots had 12 players score, including two in double-figures. Trevor Frank had 14 points, while Justin Haire came off the bench to score 16. All-LSC first-teamer Xavion Brown, last year’s LSC Tournament MVP, stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.

The Javelinas (13-16) had three in double-figure scoring, led by Bryson Goldsmith, who scored 17 off the bench. Daniel Sanchez had 15 points and five rebounds and Jadon Sautter scored 10 with six boards.

Overall, Texas A&M-Kingsville brought the fight to Frisco, battling with DBU in the first half. Trailing 31-28 at the five-minute mark, the Javelinas failed to close the half strong, giving up an 18-10 run and fell behind 49-38 at the half.

In the second half, DBU’s lead stayed between 12 and 20 points for the majority of the game but the Javelinas never could muster up a rally to get back in the game.
           
DBU Notes:
  • The Patriots improved to 19-0 in games with at least 80 points scored.
  • DBU leads the nation in steals with a 13.48 average. The Patriots hit the mark again, recording 13 steals, led by TJ Thomas, who had a game-high three.
  • DBU also ranks fifth in the country in bench points at 38.5 per game. With the game in control most of the way, the Patriots were able to get 47 bench points, outscoring the starters 47-41.
  • Xavion Brown, the tournament MVP from last year, is the only player from last year’s All-Tournament team playing in this year’s tourney. 
Texas A&M-Kingsville Notes:
  • Since the Javelinas’ improbable run in 2022 when they won three games as the No. 12 seed before losing in the finals, Texas A&M-Kingsville has made just two appearances in the tournament and now has a 1-2 record. Overall, TAMUK is 27-37 in 39 tournament appearances.
  • Texas A&M-Kingsville ranked 15th out of 17 LSC teams in scoring at 69.2 points per game and fell below the average with 67.
  • Not just scoring, but shooting the ball has been an issue for the Javelinas all season. They finished the regular season ranked 16th in the conference with a .411 field-goal percentage and shot just .333 on Thursday, making 22 of 66 shots.
  • Bryce Smith was 10th in the LSC in assists, averaging 3.6 per game. He finished the quarterfinal game with four.
  • TAMUK entered the game second in the LSC (behind DBU) in bench points, averaging 33.7 and the Javelinas hit the average with 33 points off the bench.