Jacob Jardel
Sports Editor
@JJardel_Writing
The Cameron basketball teams welcomed back alumni with a twin bill of basketball games, winning one and losing one to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Feb. 20 at Aggie Gym.
CU’s celebration of Homecoming 2016 culminated with the pair of crucial conference matchups heading into the tail end of the season.
Women’s Game
Late free throws helped the Black and Gold seal the 64-58 victory against the Javelinas in the first of the two games.
A perfect four-for-four performance late in the game helped stave off a Kingsville comeback in an otherwise back and forth match.
Cameron started off the game on a 9-0 run in the first quarter before the Jav’s 12-2 run put CU behind by three. The teams would battle for the lead before the second period, where the Aggies would take a 31-25 lead into the half.
TAMUK took over in the third frame, pulling ahead 50-42 behind a seven-point run. The Javelinas outscored the Aggies by nine in the quarter.
The final period of play saw the Aggie defense clamp down, holding Kingsville to seven points in the ten minutes of play. At just under four minutes to go, the Black and Gold pulled ahead 57-54. TAMUK would chip away at the lead, but Cameron came out ahead.
Junior Charon Montgomery finished the game with a team-high 19 points. Guard Dayla Threatt contributed with 13 points and six rebounds, leading Cameron’s efforts on the glass.
Men’s Game
The Aggie men were unable to consistently hold off Kingsville’s deep attack as they fell 77-69 in the team’s penultimate game of the season.
The Javelinas made nine three pointers in their first conference road win on the season, spoiling the Homecoming festivities on the court.
TAMUK started off on a ten-point run, but the Black and Gold would later make a charge with their own 11-6 spurt to trail 33-30 with just over a minute to go in the half. A&M went into halftime with the 35-31 lead.
A CU three pointer to open the half cut the Kingsville lead to one point, but the Javelinas would hang onto their advantage for most of the second half. However, a nine-point Aggie run would put Cameron up 56-55 with 6:40 left.
The TAMUK offensive outburst from three proved to be the Black and Gold’s undoing, though, as the team would pull ahead by two possessions before taking the win.
Senior forward Jamaal Brantley scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Aggies. He also contributed nine boards. Guard Cameron Lee added 13 points in 32 minutes for CU.
The results bring the Cameron women and men to 13-10 and 15-10 on the season respectively. The Aggies now prepare for the Lone Star Conference tournament.