LIVE STATS | VIDEO | GAME NOTES

LAREDO, Texas (February 9, 2018) – Texas A&M International University men's basketball will put their three-game win streak on the line on Saturday against Heartland Conference leaders Newman in Wichita, Kan. at 3:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Heartland Conference Digital Network.
 
ABOUT TAMIU
The Dustdevils are playing some of their best basketball of the season having won three straight after opening conference play with eight straight losses. Their defense has been outstanding as they are holding opposing team to 59.3 points per game during the streak. Overall, they rank 14^th in the nation in scoring defense holding teams 65.5 points per game on the season.
 
Jeremy Wright (11.6 ppg, 5.1 apg, 2.4 spg) has been filling the stat sheet over the past five games including a 25-point outburst in TAMIU's 72-70 overtime victory over Oklahoma Christian on Thursday. He also recorded five steals giving him 55 for the season which is the fourth most in program history. The Gardena, Calif. product scored 25 points against Newman the las time they met as he made a game-high five 3-pointers while dishing out six assists.
 
Brendan Ortiz (9.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg) is coming off his best performance of his career going for 17 points shooting 5-of-9 from the field. During the three-game winning streak, the sophomore guard has continued to make key shots in close games. Xabier Gomez (11.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg) stretches the floor for TAMIU as he has made a 3-pointer in seven straight and 10 of his past 11.
 
Kamari Robinson (11.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg) set a career-high in field goal attempts on Thursday when he scored 14 points on 16 attempts. He also pulled down seven rebounds, four of those coming on the offensive glass. He is averaging 13.2 points per game since being inserted in the starting lineup when Dan Milota went down with an injury. Damon Leach (3.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and Shea Garland (4.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg) have manned the paint for the Dustdevils with Garland having his best game in over a month scoring nine points in 29 minutes against OC.
 
ABOUT NEWMAN
Located in Wichita, Kan. with an enrollment of 2,535, Newman is 12-11 overall and 8-4 in Heartland Conference play. The Jets are led by first-year head coach R.J. Allen, who has his team playing great basketball having won four straight games to move into a three-way tie for the Heartland Conference lead.
 
The Jets enter the final five games of the regular season averaging 76.8 points per game shooting 44.6% from the field and 38.7% from 3-point range. They are one of the top rebounding teams in the conference bringing down 35.9 boards a game for a rebounding margin of 2.8.
 
Demetrius Walker (15.4 ppg, 3.9 rpg) continues to lead the team in scoring off the bench as he has reached double figures in five of the last six games including a 22-point performance on Thursday. He had 22 points in their last meeting going 8-of-11 from the field and 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Ben Ayre (13.9 ppg) does it all for the Jets as the senior guard shooting 37.2% from the field and 35.8% from three. He also ranks fifth in the conference in total assists with 95. Kevin Bryant (11.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg) had a monster game on Thursday with 23 points and 17 rebounds going 9-of-11 from the field. It marked the second time this season that Bryant has corraled 17 rebounds.
 
THE LAST TIME AROUND
The Dustdevils lost for just the second time at home in the all-time series against the Jets back on Jan. 13 when they were unable to get a shot to fall in the final seconds in a 86-85 loss. Four Dustdevils reached double figures in the loss with Jeremy Wright leading the way with 25.  
 
THE SERIES
The all-time series is tied at 10-10 after the Jets 86-85 victory back in January… The Dustdevils only away win in the series came last year in a 100-95 overtime thriller that clinched them a share of the Heartland Conference regular season title… TAMIU holds a 3-2 advantage in games played in February… Neither team has won by more than 10 points since Jan. 29, 2015 when the Jets won 91-79.
 
A TAMIU WIN WOULD…
Be their first four game win streak since winning six straight back in February of the 2016-17 season… Be consecutive road wins for the first since Feb. 23 and 25 of last year… Be a second straight win in Wichita… Give Bryan Weakley 98 career wins.
 
A TAMIU LOSS WOULD…
End a season-high three game winning streak… Give the Jets their first season sweep of the all-time series since 2012-13... extend Newman's win streak to a conference-high five games…
 
THIS DAY IN DUSTDEVIL MEN'S BASKETBALL HISTORY…
TAMIU is 3-0 all-time on games played on Feb. 10 with all three games coming in Laredo… The Dusdevils defeated Oklahoma Panhandle State 81-60 back in 2011 after defeating UT Permian Basin in 2006 and Texas College in 2005.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THURSDAY
 The Dustdevils extended their win streak to three games with a 72-70 overtime victory over Oklahoma Christian in Edmond, Okla. Jeremy Wright scored five of his career-high 25 points in overtime including a 3-pointer in the final seconds to give TAMIU a lead then would never relinquish.
 
UP NEXT
The Dustdevils return the friendly confines of the TAMIU Kinesology and Convocation Building for the final time this season when Arkansas-Fort Smith (Feb. 15) and Rogers State (Feb. 17) come to town.