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ANAHEIM, Calif. – Tipping off the season at the Disney Tip-Off Classic, Texas A&M International fought a courageous game against the nation's sixth ranked in NCAA Division II men's basketball. A 25-point halftime deficit served as the difference as No. 6 Minnesota State-Mankato won, 83-60, on Friday evening.
The Dustdevils (0-1, 0-0 Heartland Conference) resiliently rallied in the second half, outscoring the Mavericks 37-35 in the second half. But Mankato (1-0) was already leading by 25 at that point. Defending Heartland Newcomer of the Year, Matthew Culliver Jr. led the Dustdevils on the floor, scoring 17 points in 29 minutes. He was a perfect 3-for-3 from the 3-point line and shot 7 for 11 from the field.
Culliver was the only TAMIU player in double figures, as Kevin Jefferson finished with eight points and Danny Rosas nailed down six points off 2 for 5 from long range. Four other Dustdevils – Vadel Faniel, Jamie Farrie, Jordan Clark and Curtis Trotter – finished with five points.
As a team, TAMIU fired 36.8 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from the 3-point line. The Dustdevils were a solid 10-15 from the charity stripe, but they awarded the Mavericks more than double the attempts from the free throw line. Mankato shot 22 for 33 on its free throws.
TAMIU netted a powerful 26 points from the paint and took 20 points off turnovers. Ten points were scored on second-chance plays, and the bench scored 28 points.
But those totals were almost always dwarfed by the Mavericks. They scored 32 points with their inside-the-paint presence and 25 points came off turnovers – which TAMIU had 15 total giveaways. They scored 23 points from their bench.
The Dustdevils return to action on Saturday in their second game at the Disney Tip-Off Classic, this time taking on California State-Dominguez Hills at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time. TAMIU closes play against No. 2 Seattle Pacific on Sunday at 6:15 p.m. Pacific before returning to Laredo for the La Posada Classic on Nov. 15-16 at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building.
