LAREDO, Texas (February 21, 2018) – Damon Leach scored a career-high 14 points but the Texas A&M International University men's basketball were unable to overcome a slow start in a 77-63 loss to St. Edward's on Thursday evening in Austin. The Dustdevils will now turn their attention to Saturday's game against St. Mary's with the winner earning the eighth and final spot at the Heartland Conference Tournament next week in Oklahoma.
 
Leach reached double figures for the first time in his career scoring all 14 points in the second half. He went 6-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line while pulling down four rebounds. Jeremy Wright also reached double figures with 14 points connecting on all six of his free throws. The Dustdevils (10-17, 3-12 HC) were held to just 36.5% from the field while the Hilltoppers (16-11, 6-9 HC) hit nine 3-pointers, six of those coming in the first half.
 
After allowing an early 3-pointer from SEU's Landon Goesling, the Dustdevils scored the next four points on a pair of free throws from Dan Milota and a layup from Xabier Gomez. The Hilltoppers responded with a 21-0 run lasting over nine minutes to take a commanding 24-4 with just over eight minutes left in the first half.
 
Gomez went 2-of-2 from the free throw line cutting into the deficit but SEU's Ryan Garza nailed back-to-back threes making it 30-6 in favor of the home team. Wright would score the next six points for the Dustdevils on a contested layup and four free throws.
 
The deficit reached as high as 25 before Gomez nailed a three followed by a trip to the charity stripe on the next possession where he converted both freebies.  Milota got in on the action with his first long ball of the evening at 2:51 making it a 17-point ball game, 37-20.
 
Danny Spinuzza joined in on the fun from beyond the arc making a three for the third consecutive time with just over a minute remaining. Brendan Ortiz would finish the first half of action with a pair of free throws as the Dustdevils trailed 43-25.
 
Ortiz scored the first basket of the second half with an old-fashioned 3-point play on a nice dish from Wright to get the Dustdevils within 15. Leach's first buck of the game ended a 6-0 Hilltoppper run just before the under-16 media timeout. Leach would score two more times over the next few minutes as the teams traded baskets before SEU went on an 8-0 run making it 63-36 with just under 11 minutes left in the game.
 
Leach continued to punish the Hilltoppers for giving him space on the outside as he hit his fourth jumper of the half on an assist from Ortiz. Robinson hit his only three of the night at 10:25 sparking a 5-0 run for TAMIU. Following a defensive rebound, Wright drove the length of the court for a layup starting a 7-0 run with five of the points coming from the free throw line.
 
The Dustdevils were within 12 with 3:51 remaining in the game after baskets from Wright and Leach. Ivan Chapa would score his first career points on an and-one putting an end to a SEU 4-0 run. The freshman would score again in the final seconds on a fastbreak as the Dustdevils fell to the Hilltoppers 77-63.
 
The Dustdevis finish the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 24, in a winner-take-all game against StMU. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
 
PLAYER NOTES
Jeremy Wright
Wright reached double figures in scoring for a career-high eighth straight game. Although he was held to a season-low two assists, the senior has now gone 12-of-12 form the charity stripe in his past two games.
 
Damon Leach
Leach had his most productive game offensively for the Dustdevils going 6-of-7 from the field and 2-of-3 from the free throw line for 14 points. His previous career entering tonight's game was nine points set back on Jan. 11 against Oklahoma Christian.
 
Ivan Chapa
Chapa tied a career-high in minutes with three but he finally got his name in the scoring column. The Laredo, Texas product went 2-of-2 from the field while also picking up a steal which led to one of his baskets.