By Nick Eatman

Thursday night's quarterfinal session gave two more examples that you don't always have to score to get the job done.

            Wendell Mulkey had just one point, but still led Texas A&M-Kingsville to a two-point win over A&M-Commerce. In the second game, Midwestern State's Earl Rabb scored just seven points, which included his first career 3-pointer.

            Still, ask their coaches and they both would say they wouldn't trade their guy for anyone else.

            So it should make for an interesting semifinal match-up on Saturday with both Kingsville and MSU trying to battle for a spot in the LSC tournament final.

            For Rabb, he has a little extra motivation, considering he was named to the second-team all-conference squad, while both Mulkey and Angelo State point guard Lionel Brown were first-team performers.

            "I'm not going to let it bother me, but as a player, you want the best thing," said Rabb, who led the entire LSC with 5.9 assists per game and ranked second in steals with 2.3. "That's a great award. I'm not going to knock anyone ahead of me. But I wanted it. The numbers are there. I've been playing really hard all season."

            And it didn't help that both Mulkey and Brown were ahead of him.

            "That hurt really bad," Rabb said. "Two point guards that we beat. ASU and Kingsville, we beat them both times. But these are big games coming up. It's the playoffs you can't let personal stuff get to you."  

            Rabb wasn't alone in his sentiments. Even MSU head coach Jeff Ray said he made a point to address the snub to his team.

            "I'm a little disappointed in that, personally," Ray said. "I know we're not playing for just individual awards, but it's also nice to get recognized. I'm not taking anything away from anyone else, but if you look at our stats and our record, it's hard not to overlook him."

            Against Cameron Thursday night, Rabb, a 6-3 senior from Fort Worth, did just about everything but score. But with his team winning by 29, producing points wasn't even a top priority. Instead, Rabb dished out 10 assists and pulled down eight rebounds. He had just four points until he stroked a 3-pointer from the top of the key. It was not only his first trey, but first attempt of his two-year career with the Mustangs. 

            But as valuable to MSU as Rabb has been this year, the same can be said for Mulkey, a four-year letterman and three-year starter for the Javelinas.

MSU's Earl Rabb

            A&M-Kingsville head coach Pete Peterson said Mulkey has definitely set a high standard for the point guard position.

            "In recruiting, we've been trying to find a point guard and we can't find one because I keep comparing everyone to him," Peterson said of Mulkey. "I have to back off from that. Sometimes you just have to let that go, because he's just so special. There have been some games this year where it's close and we just give the ball to Wendell and tell him to work his magic. I'm not always sure what he's going to do, but he's going to do something good."

            Mulkey scores just 6.4 points per game, but ranked second in the LSC to Rabb in assists with 5.5 a game.

           However, Mulkey did a have one stretch later in the season where his scoring picked up. He scored 23 points against Angelo State, followed by scoring 10, 11 and 16 in the next three games as the Javelinas finished LSC play with an 8-4 record.

            "This is my senior season, so I've got to get it done," Mulkey said. "We don't really have any excuses. My job is to do whatever I can to help my team win."

            While Rabb was disappointed for not making the first-team, Mulkey was certainly appreciative of his honor.

            "We've got a lot of good guards in this league," said Mulkey, who was named 2008 South Division Defensive Player of the Year. "It just shows how much the coaches really think about me and I really appreciate it."

             At 6-0, Mulkey knows he'll have his hands full with the 6-3 Rabb.

            "He's a big guard, definitely," Mulkey said." But you know what, I'm going to come to play, too. It's going to be a good one."