LAREDO, Texas -Â Texas A&M International men's basketball (2-8, 0-3 LSC) fell 80-70 to Texas A&M-Kingsville (7-2, 3-0 LSC) on Saturday in a tale of two halves.
Senior Dominic Jackson led the Dustdevils with 17 points, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc, and eight rebounds in addition to three assists, a block and a steal. Senior Caleb Highley posted 16 points, two rebounds and an assist. Freshman Jorge Meijas-Sanchez logged 15 points with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Tom Higgins contributed eight points with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
TAMIU outscored the Javelinas 41-33 in the first half, only to have TAMUK return the favor in the second half by a margin of 47-29.
The Javelinas opened the game with a 7-3 run. However, the Dustdevils rallied and tied things at 10-10 and took the their first lead at 13-11. Things grew tight for the next few minutes as both teams traded baskets with six lead changes and one tie. TAMIU began to break away with just over seven minutes left in the half with a 29-22 lead, thanks to a 9-1 run. The Javelinas managed to trim the lead to one point with three minutes left, but TAMIU was able to hold them at bay as they took a 41-33 lead into the intermission.
The Dustdevils continued to use their momentum at the start of the second half, going up by their largest lead of the game at 44-35 just over a minute into the period. However, TAMUK began to mount a comeback as they were able to cut the lead to just two points at 47-45 with 16:30 left. TAMIU was able to temporarily quash to the momentum swing, but eventually the Javelinas took their first lead since the 9:45 mark of the first half at 53-52 with 13:16 remaining. That was the start of a 9-0 run that would put them up 59-52. The Dustdevils countered and were able to pull within three at 59-56 with nine minutes left. Unfortunately, that would be as close as they would get as TAMUK was able to fend them off and maintain their lead for the remainder of the game. They took their first double-digit lead of the game at 78-68 with 19 seconds left, and eventually took the victory 80-70.
The Dustdevils will be back in action on Thursday, Dec. 19 as they play host to Western New Mexico in a Lone Star Conference matchup.
