Last Tuesday, the throes of sibling rivalry were on display at Reed Arena in College Station, TX as the Texas A&M University (TAMU) basketball team narrowly slipped past the Javelinas, 81-74.
“I’m proud of my guys,” said coach Johnny Estelle “I’m proud of the way they represented the Javelina Nation tonight. I’m very proud of how they competed and tried to win. You don’t want to ever say you’re happy after a defeat, but you played a really well coached, SEC team that plays at a high level without much time to practice. Coach [Buzz] Williams is one of the best coaches in America. His staff is first-class. His players are really good. I’m proud of my guys and my staff.”
After falling behind in the first three minutes of play, Junior Sammy Brooks hit two consecutive shots from beyond the arc, catalyzing a Javelina scoring run that comprised almost 11 minutes of first half play.
The TAMUK offense scored 18 of the next 23 points. Six of those points came from Brooks and 4 came from senior Daniel Severo.
The Aggies responded with 16 unanswered points. But Bryan, Texas-native Tre Flowers answered back with 6 of the next 10 points, closing the deficit to two points.
Flowers led the court in the scoring column, finishing Tuesday’s contest with 14 points from the field. The junior also added 4 assists in his 28 minute effort.
In an interview with Javelina athletics, Flowers expressed enthusiasm for his team’s efforts in Aggieland.
““For us, I feel like this was a statement game,” Flowers said. “We felt like A&M was going to take us lightly being a Division II team, but we wanted to show them what Javelina basketball is all about. I think we did that. It was a good game for us to get ourselves rolling. What better way to start the season than to play A&M.”
The Blue and Gold kicked off the second half with six consecutive points. Though the visitors trailed by one possession numerous times, they never regained the lead.
In the last four minutes, the Javelinas came within one possession four times but the home team answered back accordingly. A string of free throws extended the Aggie’s final lead to 7.
The first regular season game for Javelina basketball will be a home stand against the South Dakota Mines on November 8th at Steinke Physical Education Center.