LIVE STATS | HEARTLAND CONFERENCE DIGITAL NETWORK | GAME NOTES

LAREDO, Texas (January 23, 2018) – The Texas A&M International University men's basketball finish its three-game road trip on Wednesday, Jan. 24, with a quick trip up to No. 22 Dallas Baptist. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Burg Center. The game will be broadcast on the Heartland Conference Digital Network.
 
ABOUT TAMIU
The Dustdevils enter the midweek matchup looking for their first win since Dec. 29 when they defeated West Coast Baptist in Lancaster, Calif. During their five-game losing skid, head coach Bryan Weakley's team is averaging 59.4 points per game eight below their season average.
 
Xabier Gomez (12.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg) is the leading scorer for a Dustdevil team that is scoring close to 67 points per game and shooting 44.1% from the field. The Barcelona, Spain product was held to seven points in their last meeting against the Patriots but has scored 10 or more points in the past three games. He set a career-high 26 points earlier in the season against St. May's in the conference opener.
 
Jeremy Wright (10.5 ppg, 5.0 apg, 2.4 spg) is five assist shy of becoming the eighth player in program history to record 100 assists in a season. The senior guard has dished out five or more assists in 12 games including a 10-assist performance against StMU.  Brendan Ortiz (9.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.2 apg) joins Wright in the backcourt and has been one of the top 3-point shooters on the team making multiple treys in four consecutive games. He has also been the top free-throw shooter over the past four games having made his last seven attempts.
 
Kamari Robinson (10.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) was reinserted back into the starting lineup this past weekend after coming off the bench the previous 10 games. He is one of four Dustdevils to have eclipsed the 20-point plateau this season. Damon Leach (3.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and Shea Garland (4.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg) will look to fill the void left by Dan Milota (11.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg) who suffered an injury two minutes into Saturday's game against Rogers State.   
 
ABOUT #22 DALLAS BAPTIST
Located in Dallas, Texas, with an enrollment of 3,223 students, Dallas Baptist is 15-3 overall and 5-2 on conference play on the season. The Patriots are coached by Dr. Blake Flickner who is in his 13^th season at DBU. He was voted as the NCCAA Central Region Coach of the Year in 2016-17 after leading his team to back-to-back Heartland Conference Championships.
 
The Patriots sit atop the conference standings with Rogers State after splitting a pair of games last week. They are a perfect 10-0 at home this season including a 87-80 win over then-No. 6 UT Permian Basin in November.
 
Boy Van Vliet (15.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg) is the leading scorer for a DBU team that averages 85.1 points per game. The senior guard was held to a season-low four points in their loss to Oklahoma Christian last Thursday but responded well with a 17-point, nine assist and six rebound performance against Newman. He is also one of the top free-throw shooters in the conference averaging 81.9% from the charity stripe. Chandler Jacobs (14.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg) is one of the top freshman in the country having reached double figures in 11 straight games including a career-high 33 against Mid-American Christian in December.
 
Patrick Burke (13.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg) is the top post player for the Patriots with the senior reaching 1,000 career points earlier in the season. The three-year starter has appeared in more than 80 games in a DBU jersey including 77 starts. Jordan Manse (10.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg) is the fourth and final Patriot averaging in double-digits as the redshirt sophomore had a strong start to the season where he scored a career-high 29 points against Concordia on Nov. 24.  
 
THE LAST TIME OUT
The Dustdevils were unable to hold on to a five-point halftime advantage in a 67-59 loss to Dallas Baptist on Dec. 16 at the TAMIU KCB. It was just the second time of the season that TAMIU lost after leading at the intermission as they shot 43.5% from the field and 50% from 3-point range.
 
THE SERIES
Wednesday's game will their second meeting of the 2017-18 season and 14^th overall.. DBU leads the all-time series 12-11 having won three straight and four of the last five… The Dustdevils hold the longest win streak in the series having won eight straight from 2011 to 2015… TAMIU won the first-ever meeting, 88-64, on Jan. 1, 2007 in Laredo.
 
A TAMIU WIN WOULD…
End a five-game losing streak… Be their first Heartland Conference win of the season… Improve them to 3-12 against Division II teams this season… Be their first win at DBU since Jan. 25, 2014… Tie the all-time series at 12-12.
 
A TAMIU LOSS WOULD…
Drop them to 0-8 in Heartland Conference play… Give DBU a two-game advantage, 13-11, in the all-time series.
 
THIS DAY IN DUSTDEVIL MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY…
TAMIU is 2-4 games played on Jan. 24… The Dustdevils have lost two straight with their last win coming against St. Mary's in 2008 in overtime… TAMIU have played on the date in consecutive years (2008/09, 2004/05) twice.
 
A LOOK BACK AT SATURDAY
Four Dustdevils scored in double figures in a 68-56 loss to the Hillcats of Rogers State on Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Claremore Expo Center.  The loss dropped TAMIU to 0-7 in conference play for the first time in program history in a contest where they got cut the deficit to one twice in the second half but were unable to take the lead.
 
Brendan Ortiz had a team-high 13 points going 4-of-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range. Jeremy Wright scored all 12 of his points in the second half while dishing out seven assists and three rebounds. Kamari Robinson also chipped in 12 points after returning to the starting lineup for the second consecutive game.
 
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils return home for a Saturday afternoon game against St. Edward's on Jan. 27. Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building.