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LAREDO, Texas (February 23, 2018) – The eighth and final spot for the Heartland Conference Tournament will be decided on the final day of the regular season as Texas A&M International and St. Mary's will face off on Saturday, Feb. 24, for a winner take all contest at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas.
 
The teams enter Saturday with a conference record of 3-12 with the winner earning a birth in the annual tournament next week in Tulsa, Okla. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Heartland Conference Digital Network.
 
ABOUT TAMIU
The Dustdevils enter the final game of the regular season in total control of their destiny as a win would give them the eighth seed and a matchup against either Dallas Baptist or Arkansas-Fort Smith with a loss ending their season. They will rely heavily on their defense that has ranked near the top of the Division II rankings all season. As of Tuesday, their scoring defense of 65.0 points per game ranked first in the conference and 12^th in the nation.
 
Jeremy Wright (11.7 ppg, 5.1 apg) continues to lead the team in scoring, assists and steals entering what could be the final game of his collegiate career. The Gardena, Calif. product has now scored in double-digits in a career-high eight games after putting up 14 against St. Edward's on Wednesday night. With four more steals he would break Matthew Culliver Jr.'s program record for steals in a single season while his 137 are five short of moving into second. If Xabier Gomez (11.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg) can play like he did when these two teams met up back in December, the Dustdevils will be a tough team to beat. The junior attacked the rim in the second half en route to a career-high 26 points including a 7-of-10 performance from the charity stripe. Percentage wise, he is the top 3-point shooter but TAMIU is a more balanced team when he is getting to the rim.
 
Kamari Robinson (10.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has started in the last 10 games after being the first man off the bench for a majority of the season. He will look to find his shooting touch on Saturday as he has gone 7-of-20 from the field in the past three games reaching double figures once. During the Dustdevils three-game winning streak earlier this month, the senior scored 10 or more points in six straight games including a double-double against St. Edward's. Dan Milota (10.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg) has averaged 6.0 points per game and 3.0 rebounds in three games since returning from a injury that sidelined him for 23 days. He has been automatic from the charity stripe having made his last seven attempts.
 
ABOUT ST. MARY'S
Located in San Antonio, Texas, with an enrollment of 3,567 students, St. Mary's is 7-20 overall and 3-12 in Heartland Conference play, The Rattlers are coached by Jim Zeleznak (206-153) who is in his 13th year at StMU. He has led the Rattlers to the NCAA tournament five times including four straight from 2011-2015.
 
The Rattlers are in the midst of an 11-game losing streak including five straight at home. They are scoring 69.6 points per game shooting 42.5% from the field, 32.3% from 3-point range and 74.6% from the free throw line.
 
Petar Radojicic (13.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg) is the leading scorer for StMU as the junior big man is shooting a team-high 51.7% from the field. He has scored over 20 points in four games this season including a 26-point performance against Rogers State. Juwan Green (11.9 ppg) is the only other Ratter in double figures as the junior guard has been playing well of late scoring 28 points in a heartbreaking loss to nationally-ranked Arkansas-Fort Smith on Saturday. Robbie Benavides (3.8 ppg, 4.5 apg) runs the show as he has a team-high 121 assists with 10 of those coming against St. Edward's in their first match up of the season.
 
THE LAST TIME AROUND
The two teams opened Heartland Conference play back on Dec. 9 at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building with the Rattlers getting the better of the Dustdevils, 87-72. StMU's Skyler Brooks went off in the first half scoring 17 of his 24 points going 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
 
Xabier Gomez had his best game of the season with a career-high 26 points going 8-of-13 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Kamari Robinson recorded his second career double-double in the loss with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Jeremy Wright also had a career-night with 10 assists, three short of tying the program record of 13 held by Johnel Grey and Larry White.
 
THE SERIES
TAMIU trail in the all-time series 9-19 and 3-10 in games play in Bill Greehey Arena… The Dustdevils have lost two straight to StMU after winning the previous four games… Neither team has swept the season series since 2015… StMU won the first ever meeting, 76-65, in Laredo, on Jan. 2, 2004.
 
A TAMIU WIN WOULD…
Clinch the eighth seed in the Heartland Conference Tournament… End a four-game losing streak… Give them back-to-back wins in San Antonio for the first time in program history… Give Bryan Weakley 98 career wins, two short of becoming the first coach in program history to reach 100.
 
A TAMIU LOSS WOULD…
End their season with a record of 10-18 and 3-13 in Heartland Conference play… Mean they would finish out of the top eight for the first time since 2014-15… Give StMU the eighth seed in the Heartland Conference Tournament… Mark the ninth time in program history they ended the regular season with a loss.
 
THIS DAY IN DUSTDEVIL MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY…
The Dustdevils are 0-1 on games played on Feb. 24 with the lone loss coming back in the 2004-05 season… Texas Wesleyan defeated TAMIU 81-76 in Fort Worth as part of three-game losing streak.
 
A LOOK BACK AT ST. EDWARD'S
A slow start ended any chance of an upset for the Dustdevils as they fell behind 30-6 in the first 13 minutes of Wednesday's contest against St. Edward's en route to a 77-63 defeat. The Dustdevils struggled from the field shooting 36.5% while the Hilltoppers felt right at home making nine 3-pointers.
 
Damon Leach led the team in scoring with 14 points, all of those coming in the second half. Jeremy Wright also chipped in 14 points going 6-of-6 from the free throw line and two assists. Ivan Chapa scored his first career points in the final minutes as the Laredo, Texas product went 2-of-2 from the field and 1-of-1 from the charity stripe for five points.
 
UP NEXT
With a win, the Dustdevils would head to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the Heartland Conference Championships where they would play either Dallas Baptist or Arkansas-Fort Smith.