LAREDO, Texas -- Following a tough opening weekend in Anaheim in which the team faced two top-five opponents, the Texas A&M International men's basketball team is coming home.
The Dustdevils return to Laredo when the team takes on Arlington Baptist in their first game at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building tonight at 7:30 p.m.
The game will be a part of the La Posada Classic, which kicks off at 5:30 when Texas of the Permian Basin faces Hillsdale Free Will Baptist.
After a grueling tournament in Anaheim, the Dustdevils fell to 0-3 to start the season in what was the toughest tournament the team has faced in school history at Disney's Division II Tip-Off Classic. TAMIU faced No. 2 Seattle Pacific and No. 5 Minnesota State-Mankato in a pair of early tests.
The opener saw the Dustdevils match up with Minnesota State as the team struggled early falling behind 48-23 by halftime. TAMIU rallied and outplayed the Mavericks in the second half by a basket, eventually dropping the first game 83-60.
In game two, the Dustdevils appeared on their way to their first win of the season leading Cal State, Dominguez Hills by nine with 9:01 remaining. Unfortunately for TAMIU, the school allowed 14 unanswered by the Toros in less than three minutes and lost 60-53.
Following the first two games, senior point guard Matthew Culliver Jr. was carrying the offense scoring 34 points in that span, the same total as the other four starters combined. He was held in check against Seattle Pacific with just three points in a 66-55 loss to conclude the tournament.
Among the bright spots on the roster was center Curtis Trotter, who returned from an ACL tear in the preseason last year. He racked up a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench against the Falcons and is second on the roster through three games averaging 10 points per contest.
With a difficult slate of games out of the way early, TAMIU will now face an Arlington Baptist team it has fared very well against historically. The Patriots are 0-1 this season with a 29-point loss at Angelo State.
Over the last three years, the Dustdevils have won all three meetings with ABU and have an average margin of victory of nearly 38 points per game. In last season's La Posada Classic, TAMIU faced the Patriots and won by 52 with a 111-59 victory. With a team pulling out of the Classic, the Dustdevils faced Arlington Baptist a second time the next day and won a much closer game at 77-67.
The previous season, TAMIU also recorded a more than 50-point victory over the Patriots with a 97-46 blowout.
Following the game, the Dustdevils will play in the second and final game of the La Posada Classic against Hillsdale Free Will Baptist (1-1) on Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. Preceding the game at noon will be Arlington Baptist taking on UTPB.
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