LAREDO, Texas (February 17, 2018) – Texas A&M International University men's basketball players Jeremy Wright, Kamari Robinson and Dan Milota were honored before Saturdays game as the Dustdevils fell 58-47 to Rogers State in front of 345 fans at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building.
 
Jeremy Wright had a team-high 14 points going 6-of-6 from the free throw dishing out five assists. Kamari Robinson reached double figures chipping in 10 points pulling down a game-high seven rebounds. The Dustdevils (10-16, 3-11 HC) went without a basket for more than 12 minutes in the second half while being outshot 50% to 32.6% by RSU (17-9, 8-6 HC)
 
The Hillcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes on 3-pointers from Baron Smith Jr. Saint Hilaire. Xabier Gomez scored the Dustdevils first basket of the game with a layup at 17:42 followed immediately by a three from RSU. Wright's layup a minute later cut the deficit to five followed by a 9-2 run from the Hillcats.
 
The deficit was 12, 18-6, before Wright started to bring the Dustdevils back into the game. The senior scored 10 of the next 15 points for TAMIU as they went on a 15-2 to take their first lead of the game with just over two minutes remaining. Following a three from RSU's Chase Littlejohn, Robinson responded with a three of his own with 33 seconds left to give the Dustdevils a 24-23 lead heading into halftime.
 
Dustdevils extended the lead to three on the first possession of the second half with a Gomez dunk that was countered by a layup from Smith Jr. on the other end. Robinson converted on his first shot of the second stanza making it 28-25 just under 19 minutes in. Hilaire scored four straight for the Hillcats giving them a 29-28 lead at 17:58.
 
TAMIU responded as Robinson and Milota connected on 3-pointers on the next two possessions pushing their lead to five, 34-29, heading into the under-16 media timeout. RSU cut into the lead on the next possession on a three from Tate Turner followed by a jumper from Danny Spinuzza making it 38-34.
 
Another Turner three ignited a 14-3 run for the Hillcats giving them a 48-41 lead as the Dustdevils went over 12 minutes without making a field goal. Spinuzza ended the drought as he connected on his only three of the game with 3:26 remaining cutting the deficit to three, 48-45.
 
A pair of Wright free throws 30 seconds alter kept the deficit at three before Littlejohn hit a three late in the shot clock on the next possession to push the RSU's lead back to six, 53-47. The Dustdevils got stops on the defensive side of the ball but were unable to get shots to fall in the final two minutes as they fell 58-47 to the Hillcats.
 
The Dustdevis finish the regular season with a pair of road games starting with a trip to Austin on Wednesday, Feb. 21, to face off against St. Edward's.
 
PLAYER NOTES
Xabier Gomez
Wright's 14 points marked the eighth straight game he has reached double figures in scoring tying a career-high. He recorded one steal which gives him 59 on the season tying him for third-most in a single season in program history.
 
Kamari Robinson
Robinson rebounded from a subpar performance on Thursday with 10 points and seven rebounds against RSU. He tied a career-high with 3-pointers while his seven rebounds marked the 12^th this season he has led the team in rebounds.