Men's Basketball 2/1/2013 1:32:00 AM

Gray stays hot, Dustdevils down OPSU

Box Score

GOODWELL, Oklahoma (January 31, 2013) – Johnel Gray scored in double digits for the sixth consecutive game Thursday night, dropping 24 on Oklahoma Panhandle State as the TAMIU men’s basketball team routed the Aggies 87-69.

Gray shot 88.9 percent from the field (8-9) and was perfect from both beyond the arc (4-4) and at the free throw line (4-4).

“Johnel has been a guy we can count on to put the ball in the basket,” said Head Coach Bryan Weakley. “We rely heavily on his shot making ability. What’s more is that he manages to get his points within our offensive game plan.”

The Dustdevils shot 62.7 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from three-point range, both their second highest marks of the season.

“OPSU is always a tough place to get a win,” said Coach Weakley. “We created high percentage shots by playing unselfish and sharing the ball well. We had stretches where we played really well on both ends of the floor however we can’t have 18 turnovers if we are going to win on Saturday.”

Damal Donaldson had his best scoring night of the season, adding a season-high 18 points shooting 87.5 percent (7-8) from the field and hitting all four of his free throws. Two other Dustdevils scored in double digits including Felipe Vezaro with 14 and Jordan Clark with 13. Matthew Culliver Jr. kicked in seven points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.

TAMIU led by as many as four points early in the opening half, but the Aggies battled back to tie the game at 22 with eight minutes left to play. Jordan Clark ignited a 7-0 TAMIU run with a throw-down to give the Dustevils a 29-22 lead, but a Krys Randolph three pulled OPSU back within four. Culliver and Kevin Jefferson Jr. combined for five straight points to push the lead back out to nine, but OPSU hit two free throws with under a minute to play to cut the Dustdevils lead to 36-29 at the half.

A 9-0 run by the Dustdevils to start the second half, proved to be too much for the Aggies to overcome. A layup from OPSU’s Michael Patterson with 11:21 remaining brought the Aggies within eight points, but it was the last time TAMIU’s lead would hit single digits. Gray hit back-to-back three’s followed by a Clark layup to extend the Dustdevils’ lead to 58-42. TAMIU wouldn’t let up the rest of the way, cruising to a 21-point 87-69 win.

The win couldn’t have come at a better time for the Dustdevils on a night full of upsets around the conference. With St. Mary’s falling to UT-Permian Basin 68-60, the Dustdevils now own sole possession of third place in the standings with a 5-3 league record, half-a- game behind Newman (6-2) for second.

Elsewhere Dallas Baptist handed Arkansas Fort Smith (7-1 HC) their first conference loss of the season 93-79, pulling TAMIU within two games of the league’s top spot. However, St. Mary’s, Dallas Baptist, and UT-Permian Basin all sit one game behind TAMIU, with the Dustdevils slated to face UTPB Saturday afternoon in a huge conference matchup. TAMIU will tip off versus the Falcons at 4 p.m. in Odessa on Saturday.

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