LAREDO, Texas - Texas A&M International men's basketball (1-0) got the season started on the right foot with a 75-65 win over Chadron State (0-1) in the first game of the La Posada South Central Regional Challenge on Friday.

The Dustdevils were led by senior Caleb Highley, who finished just one rebound shy of a double-double with a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds, with four assists and a steal. Junior Ryan Birt posted 16 points with four rebounds and four steals. Senior Dominic Jackson contributed 15 points with six rebounds, two steals and an assist.

As a team, the Dustdevils shot 41.4 percent from the field and 72.4 percent from the charity stripe. TAMIU took advantage of the opportunities CSC gave them with 29 points off 24 turnovers. They also dominated down low with 30 points in the paint.

TAMIU controlled the game for all of the opening half, never trailing once. With just over 12 and a half minutes left in the period the Dustdevils went up 12-6. The Eagles would rally back and trim the deficit to one point at 16-15 with just under nine and half minutes left in the half. TAMIU responded by pushing out to largest lead of the half at 31-24 with just over three and half minutes left, thanks to a three-pointer from freshman Jorge Mejias-Sanchez. The Dustdevils took a 36-30 lead into the intermission.

After the break, TAMIU continued to hold off CSC going up 47-38 just over six minutes into the second half. They took their first double-digit lead of the game at 61-51 thanks in part to a three-pointer from Birt with eight minutes left. The Dustdevils took their largest lead of the game at 66-53 with under three minutes remaining in the game. Although the Eagles would attempt a late comeback, cutting the deficit to 72-63 with 22 second left, TAMIU came away with the 75-65 victory.

The Dustdevils will be back in action on Saturday for the second game of the La Posada South Central Regional Challenge as they host South Dakota School of Mines at 5 p.m.