Box Score
KINGSVILLE, Texas – Texas A&M International won its fourth consecutive game on Saturday in the Emerald Beach Hotel Javelina Classic finale. The Dustdevils (4-3, 0-0 Heartland Conference) downed tournament-host Texas A&M-Kingsville 86-77, railing off a winning margin of 76 combined points through the past four games.
As if that score line needed one, the exclamation point was delivered by a pair of Dustdevils on the All-Tournament Team. Senior guard Johnel Grey was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament and senior center Damal Donaldson was named to the honorable team.
In Saturday's game against the Javelinas, TAMIU saw a quartet of double-figure scorers but only one started the game. The bench blistered the nets as Grey led the way with 23 points, five assists, a block and a steal through 34 minutes. Donaldson pounded 20 points, two assists, a block and a steal, and Jordan Clark finished with 10 points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Kevin Jefferson Jr. ripped the nets for 15 points and three assists as a starter, but the next closest starter was Vadel Faniel – who scored six points. The Dustdevils' three other starters scored a combined 10 points: Jamie Farrie (4 points), Matthew Pritchett (2) and Deonnte Breedlove (2).
Team captain Matthew Culliver Jr. and junior center Curtis Trotter each contributed two points off the bench.
The Dustdevils dominated off the boards, who's 40 rebounds were more than twice as many as TAMUK (19). Faniel led the way with 10, while Donaldson had eight and both Culliver and Jefferson pulled in five.
With the multiple scoring opportunities those rebounds created, the Dustdevils outscored the Javelinas 10-4 on second-chance plays and outmuscled them 40-28 in the paint.
Tournament MVP Grey scored a tournament-total 43 points with eight assists and six rebounds. Donaldson's tournament posted 34 points in the two games to go along with 14 rebounds.
The Dustdevils will play the University of the Incarnate Word, a NCAA Division I team, in an exhibition on Nov. 30 in San Antonio before returning to the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building on Dec. 4 to host the same TAMUK team they defeated on Saturday.
