TULSA, Okla. (March 1, 2018) – Jeremy Wright scored a career-high 31 points but it wasn't enough as Texas A&M International University men's basketball  lost 84-72 to No. 22 Dallas Baptist on Thursday evening in the Heartland Conference Quarterfinals at the Union Multipurpose Activities Center in Tulsa, Okla. The Dustdevils finish the season 11-18 overall and 4-12 in conference play while the Patriots will play the winner of Lubbock Christian/Rogers State on Saturday.
 
Wright eclipsed the 30-point mark for the first time in his career going 11-of-18 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-piont range. He also chipped in five assists and three steals. Kamari Robinson finished with 13 points and eight rebounds with Brendan Ortiz scoring 11 on 3-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
 
Dan Milota got the Dustdevils on the board a minute into the game with a 3-pointer giving them a 3-2 lead. Robinson's layup a minute later tied the game at 5-all with  Wright's first three of the evening at 15:34 giving them a 8-7 lead. The Patriots would go on a 5-0 run over the next three possessions but a long ball from Wright kept TAMIU within one, 12-11, with a little more than 14 minutes remaining.
 
Wright continued his hot start making another jumper at 13:36 with a Robinson free throw a minute later tying the game at 14-14. Following a jumper by DBU's Chandler Jacobs, the Dustdevils would score five straight points to take a 19-16 lead courtesy of a three from Wright and layup from Xabier Gomez.
 
The Dustdevils would struggle over the final eight minutes of the half committing eight turnovers and shooting 1-of-5 from the field as DBU went on a 21-2 run as TAMIU trailed 37-21 at half.
 
Robinson scored the first seven points of the second half for the Dustdevils as they traded baskets with the Patriots. The deficit reached as high as 20 with 16:44 left in the contest before Wright and Garland went on a 7-0 run to make it 49-36. Wright continued his hot hand as he traded threes with DBU's JT Harris to keep them within 13.
 
Gomez's old-fashioned 3-point play ignited the Dustdevils as they scored seven of the next nine points to get within 12, 58-46, with 10:27 remaining. A three from Ortiz on their next possession cut the deficit to 11 but DBU answered with a three of their own. An 11-2 run from the Patriots made it 71-51 before Ortiz made his second 3-pointer of the evening after the under-8 media timeout.
 
Ortiz continued to feel it from the outside as his third three of the second half gave the Dustdevils hope trailing by only 12, 71-59, with a little more than five minutes remaining in the quarterfinal matchup. Wright hit a pair of jumpers on back-to-back possessions making it 75-65 with two minutes remaining. The Dustdevils had a chance to get the deficit to single digits follow an Oritz steal but were unable to make a basket before being forced to follow DBU's Jacobs. Wright's final three of his career with two seconds was in vain as the Dustdevils exited in the Heartland Conference Quarterfinals for the third straight season.
 
 
PLAYER NOTES
Jeremy Wright
Wright ended his two-year career with a career-high in points, field goals and 3-pointers as well as tying the single season record in steals. The Gardena, Calif. product becomes the first Dustdevil to score over 30 points since Feb. 20, 2016 when Anthonoy Alston had 34 against DBU. His previous high before tonight's game was 25 set against Newman and Oklahoma Christian earlier this year. His three steals brought his season total to 62, tying Matthew Culliver Jr.'s record set back in 2012-13.
 
Kamari Robinson
Robinson came within two rebounds of his third career double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds. He finished as the top rebounder for the Dustdevils for the 15^th time this season. He went 2-of-3 from 3-piont range marking the sixth time he has made two or more from beyond the arc.
 
Brendan Ortiz
For the second straight game, Ortiz scored all of his points in the second half. Following last Saturday's 12-point performance against St. Mary's, the sophomore scored all 11 of his points after the first intermission going 3-of-6 from 3-point range.