Men's Basketball 12/8/2012 12:42:00 AM

Men’s Basketball Blasts Arlington Baptist in La Posada Classic

Box Score LAREDO, Texas (December 7) – Five players scored in double-figures and the TAMIU men’s basketball team shot a season high 74.6 percent from the field, in a 111-59 win over Arlington Baptist College Friday night on the opening day of the La Posada Classic.

The 111 points scored by the Dustdevils was the highest single game total since the 2007-08 season, when TAMIU scored 109 versus Dallas Baptist. The Dustdevils also shot 53.3 percent from the perimeter and racked up 24 assists, both season highs.

Defensively the Dustdevils forced the Patriots into 20 turnovers, resulting in 40 TAMIU points. The Dustdevils out-scored Arlington Baptist 40-18 in the paint and out-rebounded the visitors 30-13. TAMIU also racked up a season high 11 steals, and tied a season low with 11 turnovers.

Jordan Clark finished a perfect 11-11 from the floor and added two free throws to lead TAMIU with a season-high 24 points. Felipe Vezaro also had his best night in a TAMIU uniform, knocking down 6-10 field goals and 3-5 three-pointers to finish with a season-high 17 points. Johnel Gray, Kevin Jefferson Jr., and Jayvin Reynolds added 14, 13, and 12 points respectively.

“As a team I think we brought the intensity tonight and kept that level up the entire time,” said junior forward Jordan Clark. “In the last couple of games we lost our intensity and that was our main focus tonight, to keep playing at the same level the entire game. Coach keeps telling me that I’m a good 15-foot shooter and I need to play with a high motor, so that’s what I tried to do today. I ran the floor and tried to make the game simple. I got easy buckets when I could and took the 15-foot shot with confidence when it was there.”

The Dustdevils opened the game on a 15-0 run and never let the Patriots trim the lead back into single digits. Patriots guard Raphael Garcia cut the lead to 11 after knocking down a three-pointer with 14:05 remaining in the opening half, but that’s as close as they would come. TAMIU shot 75.9 percent from the field in the first half and connected on 5-7 shots from beyond the arc, taking a 30-point lead into the half.

TAMIU opened the second half much like they did the first, using a 15-2 run to extend their lead to 41 points (72-31). They continued to pour on the offense, ultimately pushing their lead out to 52 points by the final buzzer. The 52 point margin of victory was the largest since the 2010-11 season, when the Dustdevils defeated Barclay Christian by 59 points.

The Dustdevils and Patriots will suit up for round two of the La Posada Classic Saturday afternoon with tip off scheduled for 12 p.m. at the TAMIU KCB. Although TAMIU came away with a lopsided victory Friday night, forward Jordan Clark says the team will approach the game with a very serious attitude.

“These are the types of games that will propel us into our conference schedule, so we have to take it seriously. We are approaching it like we are playing the best team in our conference. Playing with that mentality will help us to keep fine tuning our offense and work on our defense as well.”

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