WICHITA, Kansas (January 2, 2016) -- A final second showdown between the Texas A&M International University Dustdevils and Newman Jets left Men's Basketball with a 76-78 loss on Saturday afternoon. The loss was the first conference defeat for the Dustdevils, moving them to a 3-1 record. TAMIU stands at 8-4 overall.

With multiple lead changes and momentum swings, the Dustdevils found themselves in a fight to the finish against the Jets. In the dying seconds of a 76-76 game, Newman added a basket to take a two-point lead with 13 seconds left. A TAMIU timeout was taken to draw up a final play. On the court, the Dustdevils executed, but were denied by the defensive efforts of Jets with a blocked shot at the buzzer.

TAMIU stood tall in their performance against the Jets. The Dustdevils came from a 6-point deficit in the first half to catch Newman in the final 20 minutes of play. A 0% three-point shot average in the first was improved by a 40% effort in the second half. TAMIU never quit, as they outscored the Jets by 4 (39-35) during the second half.

Senior Arkeem Joseph led the Dustdevils with a double-double, collecting 22 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Jordan VanDeKop followed up with a strong presence on both sides of the court, including 21 points and 7 rebounds of his own.

Up next, the Dustdevils will return home on January 7th to face Rogers State in Heartland Conference action at the TAMIU KCB. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30pm CST.

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