LAREDO, Texas (February 15, 2018) – Texas A&M International University men's basketball forced 18 turnovers but were unable to find any rhythm on offense as they lost 72-52 to #19 Arkansas-Fort Smith on Thursday night at the TAMIU KCB. The Dustdevils (10-15, 3-10 HC) were outshot 61.9% to 37% by the Lions (22-4, 10-4 HC) in contest where TAMIU went 4-of-24 from 3-point range.
 
Xabier Gomez led the team in scoring and rebounds as the junior scored a game-high 21 points pulling down six rebounds. He went 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Jeremy Wright reached double figures for the seventh straight game with 10 points while dishing out eight assists.
 
 The Dustdevils jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute of the contest on a three from Wright with the shot clock winding down followed by a breakaway layup from Gomez on one of his career-high five steals. UAFS responded going on a 5-0 run of their own to tie the game before Shea Garland made a contested layup at 17:29 to give TAMIU a 7-5 lead.
 
It was tied at 7-all with just over 17 minutes remaining before an Ortiz jumper and Gomez dunk helped the Dustdevils take a 11-7 lead at 14:25. Just like they had done earlier in the half, UAFS stormed back to take the lead courtesy of a 11-0 run over the next four minutes.
 
Kamari Robinson scored three straight points as he went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe followed by a jumper ending UAFS run and pulling TAMIU within four, 18-14.  The teams would trade baskets over the next four minutes until a Danny Spinuzza three at 4:36 made it 22-19. UAFS would stretch the lead to five after under-four media timeout but Robinson was there to answer with another layup.
 
Ortiz would make the final basket of the first half for either team with a little more than two minutes remaining as TAMIU trailed 28-23 at the break.
 
Gomez made the first basket of the second half for TAMIU at 16:31 putting an end to a UAFS 6-0 run that stretched the lead to double-digits. The lead was 13 when Damon Leach scored his first points of the game on a put back making it 39-28.
 
Wright got his floater to fall with 12:13 remaining but he missed the chance for the 3-point play when his free throw was no good as UAFS led 44-31. The Dustdevils looked to be gaining momentum when Wright reeled off four straight points with nine minutes remaining but UAFS answered with five straight points of their own from Chris Crawford.
 
Dan Milota playing in his first game in 23 days made a 3-pointer at 8:46 to make it 52-40. Following the deep ball, UAFS would go on a 14-4 run over the next four minutes stretching its lead to 22, 66-44. Gomez wouldn't let the Dustdevils go down without a fight as he scored eight of his 21 in the final two minutes as TAMIU dropped a second straight contest to the Lions, 72-52.
 
The Dustdevils will host the Hillcats of Rogers State on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 3 p.m. where the teams three seniors will be honored.  
 
PLAYER NOTES
Xabier Gomez
The junior joins Jeremy Wright as the only two Dustdevils this season to score 20 or more points twice. His eight field goals tied a career-high set earlier in the season against St. Mary's and Arlington Baptist. He also nailed a 3-pointer for a team-high ninth straight game.
 
Jeremy Wright
Wright had six of his eight assists in the first half as the senior now has 130 assists on the season which is the fourth-most in program history in a single season. He also had two steals brining his season total to 58 which is five short of breaking Matthew Culliver Jr.'s record set back in 2012-13.