Laredo, Texas (November 10, 2017) – The 2017-18 Texas A&M International University men's basketball season got off to a strong start as the Dustdevils defeated Chadron State 72-64 on Friday night in front of 456 fans at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building.
 
"Obviously, any in-region win is big and we are happy about that," said head coach Bryan Weakley. "With that being said, we have a long ways to go as a team with all of the mistakes that we made. Chadron State is a really good coached team and were missing some keys pieces tonight so we need to refocus to be ready for tomorrow's game."
 
Jeremy Wright was one of four Dustdevils to score double-digits as he had a game-high 16 with eight assists. Dan Milota added 15 points and six rebounds of his own. Xabier Gomez contributed 11 points while Chris McDonald came off the bench to score 11 points. TAMIU (1-0) outshot CSC (0-1) 47 percent from the field to 38 percent while scoring 36 points from the three-point line.
 
Both teams struggled to find any rhythm on offense, as it was tied 12-12 heading into the second media timeout. After trading threes, the Dustdevils went on a 12-2 run making it 27-17 thanks to a pair of threes from the left corner from McDonalad. The Eagles scored seven of the final 10 points of the first half to pull within six heading into the first intermission.
 
The Dustdevils came out with more energy in the second half extending their lead to 13, 42-29, in the first three minutes of the second half on a layup from Robinson followed by a three from Wright. The Eagles battled back getting within nine at 11:35 remaining after Dru Kushausen made three free throws. A massive dunk from Shea Garland at the 9:58 restored TAMIU's double-digit lead and got the crowd on its feet.
 
A Leah Saffin three at 8:58 brought the Eagles within eight but Wright returned the favor with one of his four threes less than a minute later. CSC tried multiple times to rally, even getting the lead down to six with less than two minutes to play, but Gomez went 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to seal the Dustdevils first season opening win since 2012.
 
The Dustdevils will have a quick turnaround hosting the South Dakota School of Mines on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the TAMIU KCB. The Hardrockers lost to Texas A&M-Kingsville 71-53 on Friday night in Kingsville.