LIVE STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES

LAREDO, TEXAS (December 18, 2017) – The Texas A&M International University men's basketball team conclude their six-game home stand on Tuesday, Dec. 19, hosting No. 22 Texas A&M-Commerce of the Lone Star Conference at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Heartland Conference Digital Network.
 
ABOUT TAMIU
The Dustdevils sit 6-6 on the season and 0-2 in Heartland Conference play after dropping a 67-59 decision to Dallas Baptist at home on Saturday. After starting 3-0 during the six-game home stand, TAMIU has dropped two straight at the TAMIU KCB for the second time this season.
 
Head coach Bryan Weakley's squad is holding opposing teams to a Heartland conference-best 63.8 points per game on 38.5% shooting. Their 92 team steals rank first in the Heartland while sitting second in turnover margin at 2.25.
 
Xabier Gomez (12.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.8 apg) will look to bounce back after a seven-point, four turnover outing against DBU on Saturday. The Barcelona, Spain product looks his best when he gets to the free throw line having taken a team-high 58 freebies in 12 games. Dan Milota (11.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg) has been the most consistent option for the Dustdevils having scored 10 or more points in nine games this season including a career-high 17 against Randall at the River City Classic.
 
Jeremy Wright (10.4 ppg, 5.4 apg, 2.7 spg) has seen his scoring dip over the past four games but has found other ways to help his team dishing out 26 assists including a career-high 10 in a loss to St. Mary's. The Gardena, Calif. product also leads the Heartland in steals with 32, nine more than St. Edward's Sean Watkins.
 
Kamari Robinson (11.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg) has given the Dustdevils a much-needed boost off the bench having scored in double figures in three straight games for the first time in his career. Brendan Ortiz (8.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.4 apg) looks to be healthy again for the Dustdevils playing a career-high 37 minutes against DBU after missing five games earlier in the season due to a shoulder injury.
 
ABOUT TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE
Located in Commerce, Texas with an enrollment of 12,385, Texas A&M-Commerce is 10-1 and 4-0 in Lone Star Conference play on the season. The Lions are led by first-year head coach Jaret von Rosenberg, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant at the University of Hartford.
 
The Lions enter the week ranked 22^nd in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and 23^rd in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) after opening the season 10-0 tying the best start in program history before losing to Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday.
 
Willie Rooks (15.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 1.9 apg) is the leading scorer for a Lions' team that averages 74.7 points per game. The Houston, Texas product is shooting 42.9% from the field, 38.7% from 3-point range and 87.4% from the free-throw line. Earlier in the season he scored a career-high 25 against Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 7 going 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from three. Reggie Reid (14.7 ppg, 4.8 apg, 4.4 rpg) does it all for the Lions from his guard position leading the team in assists while ranking fourth in rebounds. Dorian Armstrong (11.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg) has been a dominant post presence on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball for von Rosenburg's squad.
 
THE SERIES
Tuesday's game will be the third meeting overall and first in Laredo between the two programs… The Dustdevils have dropped both previous meetings with the Lions by a margin of 23 points… TAMUC won the first-ever meeting, 74-62, on Nov. 16, 2008… TAMIU is 28-41 all-time against the Lone Star Conference.
 
A TAMIU WIN WOULD…
Be the first win of the series… Be the first win over a Lone Star Conference opponent this season (0-3)…  Prevent the Dustdevils from having multiple three-game losing streaks for the first time since 2014-15… Improve the Dustdevils to 3-6 against Division II opponents this season.
 
A TAMIU LOSS WOULD…
Give the Lions a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series… Mark the second time in Weakley's tenure that he has lost three or more games twice in a season… Drop the Dustdevils to 0-4 against Lone Star Conference opponents this season.
 
THIS DAY IN DUSTDEVIL MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY…
TAMIU is 3-2 on games played on Dec. 19 including three straight victories… The Dustdevils defeated Rogers State 68-55 last year behind the 16-point, six rebound performance from Denzel Bellot. 
 
A LOOK BACK AT SATURDAY
It was a tale of two halves in the Dustdevils' 67-59 loss to Dallas Baptist on Dec. 16 at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building. TAMIU lost for just the second time this season when leading at halftime after going without a bucket for more than 10 minutes stretching through both halves.
 
Brendan Ortiz was the leading scorer for TAMIU tying a career-high with 15 points going 5-of-10 from three. Kamaria Robinson and Dan Milota both contributed 11 points with Robinson also pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. As a team, The Dustdevils outshot DBU 43.5% to 34.8% from the field and 50.0% to 28.0% from three.
 
UP NEXT
Following the Christmas holiday, the Dustdevils travel to California to face West Coast Baptist on Friday, Dec. 29., in Lancaster, Calif. TAMIU will also play an exhibition against Long Beach State the following d