FORT SMITH, Ark. (January 18, 2018) – The Texas A&M International University men's basketball team allowed a season-high 59 second half points en route to a 95-53 defeat to Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday night at the Stubblefield Center.

Xabier Gomez reached double figures for the 12^th time this season with a team-high 14 points going 6-of-13 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range. Brendan Ortiz chipped in 10 points as the Dustdevils (7-11, 0-6) shot 33.3% from the field compared to 64.4% for UAFS (15-3, 4-3).
 
Neither team could buy a basket in the first two minutes of regulation before Jeremey Wright connected on his first 3-pointer of the evening at 17:29 tying the game at 3-3. Ortiz got in on the act making his first long ball of the evening making it a 9-6 game in favor of UAFS.
 
Wright put the deficit back to three with 11:54 remaining scoring in the paint after pulling down a rebound off his own miss making it 11-8.  Danny Spinuzza made his first 3-pointer since Dec. 16 with a little more than 10 minutes left bringing the Dustdevils within two, 13-11.
 
That was the closest TAMIU would get as the Lions responded with a 7-0 run over the next three minutes making 18-11 before Gomez converted TAMIU's fourth 3-pointer of the first half. Dan Milota got his name on the scoresheet for the first time with a layup at 5:43 making it 25-16 in favor of UAFS.
 
The deficit reached 11 points before the Dustdevils responded with a 6-0 run making it 27-22 as Gomez made a pair of layups with Damon Leach making his first basket of the game on a jumper. Wright went 1-of-2 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes as the TAMIU trailed 36-23 at halftime.
 
The Dustdevils saw the Lions score the first 11 points of the second half to stretch the deficit to 24, 47-23, before Leach converted a 3-point play the old-fashioned way at 16:49. Ortiz made both of his free throws just before the first media timeout to cut the deficit to 22, 50-28.
 
Gomez continued to pace the TAMIU offense with a layup at 15:27 followed by a 3-pointer three minutes later. Wright hit his second three of the night with under 12 minutes remaining in regulation to cut the deficit to 20, 58-38.
 
Shea Garland did his best to keep TAMIU within striking distance scoring all five of his points over the next two minutes but it wasn't enough as the Lions outscored the Dustdevils 30-10 over the final 10 minutes to pick up a 95-53 win.
 
The Dustdevils make the trip to Claremore, Okla. for a Saturday afternoon showdown with Rogers State. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. at the Claremore Expo Center.
 
PLAYER NOTES
Xabier Gomez
The Dusdtevils fell to 6-6 on the season when Gomez scores 10 or more points. The Barcelona, Spain product has now made at least one 3-pointer in back-to-back games for the seventh time this season. He also led the team in rebounding for the fourth time this season.
 
Brendan Ortiz
The sophomore guard was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free-throw line for the Dustdevils. He has now made 12 of his last 14 freebies after starting the season 4-of-7.