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ANAHEIM, Calif. – Texas A&M International's season-opening slate at the Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic has packed its punches, a trend that started on Friday with a loss to No. 6 Minnesota State-Mankato. Things continued along those lines as host California State-Dominguez Hills edged the Dustdevils in a seven-point game on Saturday.
The Dustdevils fell to 0-2 after Saturday's 60-53 game, the ninth competition of the Disney Tip-Off Classic. The Dustdevils will try to close the tournament with a bang on Sunday, facing No. 2 Seattle Pacific at 6:15 p.m. Pacific Time.
Against Dominguez Hills, the Dustdevils shot poorly – registering sub-30 percent shooting from the field and from the 3-point line. TAMIU sunk just 29.5 percent of its field goal attempts and an even slimmer 25 percent from long range. The shot better from the free throw line, reaching it 19 times and converting 12 of those attempts – good for a 63.2 percentage.
Matthew Culliver Jr. again led the Dustdevils in scoring, shooting 7-16 from the field and 3-7 from downtown. He missed his only free throw attempt, but an assist and a steal in his 38 minutes on the floor.
Big man Curtis Trotter registered a point a minute, playing just nine minutes but scoring nine points. Senior Johnel Grey scored eight points, but was dealt a technical foul in his 38 minutes.
Kevin Jefferson Jr. also threw down eight points, with two assists in 29 minutes.
The TAMIU bench scored 17 points, the post play served up 24 points – with 16 coming off second-chance plays.
TAMIU will look for its first win in the final game of the Tip-Off Classic, playing No. 2 Seattle Pacific on Sunday before returning home for the La Posada Classic on Nov. 15-16.
