SILVER CITY, N.M. (November 27, 2017) – Dan Milota and Jeremy Wright scored in double figures as the Texas A&M International University men's basketball team fell 71-51 to Western New Mexico on Monday night at Drag's Court in Silver City, N.M.
 
Wright reached double figures for the seventh straight game with 10 points going 4-of-15 from the field while adding five rebounds and four assists. Milota chipped in 10 points and four rebounds while Danny Spinuzza had his best game in a Dustdevil uniform with seven points and seven rebounds. The Dustdevils (3-4) shot a season-low 27.7% from the field and 16.7% from 3-point range while the Mustangs (2-4) shot 42.9% from deep.

"For some reason we didn't play well tonight," TAMIU head coach Bryan Weakley said. "We have to get it right soon because the Heartland Conference games are right around the corner."
 
The Dustdevils started the game 0-of-7 from the field before Spinuzza tied the game at 2-all with just under 17 minutes remaining. Jumpers from Milota and Damon Leach gave the Dustdevils a 6-5 lead at 13:21. The Mustangs responded with a 6-0 run to retake the lead before a Kamari Robinson three at 10:03 cut the deficit to two, 11-9.
 
Following Robinson's trey from downtown, the Dustdevils went ice cold from the field missing their next six shots including four threes' as the Mustangs went on an 11-1 run making it 22-10. A three-point play from Robinson at 5:07 cut the deficit to single digits for the last time of the night, 22-13.
 
TAMIU's struggle from the field continued over the final five minutes of the first half with the Mustangs scoring 11 of the final 15 points going 4-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute making it 33-17.
 
Wright scored the first five points of the second half for the Dustdevils on a jumper and a three to cut the lead to 17, 39-22. A layup and free throw from Shea Garland made it a 14-point game just moments later but three straight empty positions from the Dustdevils allowed the Mustangs to push the lead back to 20, 45-25.
 
Chris McDonald's three with 12:03 remaining in game made it 52-33 but the Mustangs responded with another run pushing the deficit to a game-high 27 with less than 10 minutes in the game. The Dutdevils didn't give up as they a layup from Spinuzza and two free-throws from Xabier Gomez had the lead down to 23 heading into the under-8 media timeout.
 
The Dustdevils proceeded to score six straight points out of the media timeout to cut the lead to 19 on a jumper and two free-throws from Milota. A three from Marek Hajek and two free-throws from Stanley Perrin brought the Dustdevils within 17 but the Mustangs went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe in the final minute to hand TAMIU its third straight loss of the season, 71-51.
 
 
The Dustdevils return to the friendly confines of the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building for their next six games starting with the Courtyard Marriot Classic on Thursday and Friday. All home games are broadcast on the Heartland Conference Digital Network.
 
PLAYER NOTES
Danny Spinuzza
The junior from Downers Grove, Ill. had a career-night with seven points and seven rebounds. .
 
Marek Hajek
Hajek had four points in 16 minutes of action including making his first 3-pointer since Nov. 10 against Chadron State.
 
Damon Leach
Leach had another strong performance off the bench with two points and five rebounds, two of those coming on the offensive glass.
 
Chris McDonald
McDonald had his best game in over two weeks scoring five points including his first 3-pointer since TAMIU's season opening victory over Chadron State. He also tied a career-high with three rebounds while dishing out three assists.