LAREDO, Texas - Texas A&M International men's basketball (3-16, 1-12 LSC) fought hard but came up just short against No. 4 West Texas A&M (19-1, 11-1 LSC) in a 64-54 decision on Saturday.

Senior Caleb Highley led the Dustdevils with a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to four assists. Sophomore Tom Higgins finished two rebounds shy of his own double-double with 13 points and eight rebounds with three steals. Freshman Jorge Meijas-Sanchez logged 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Matija Novkovic contributed eight points with two rebounds, two assists and a steal.

The first half was incredibly close. TAMIU took control early going up 13-7 in the first four minutes. The Buffs found their footing, fought back and went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 14-13. Both teams traded the lead for the next several minutes, until WT went up 21-16 with 8:25 left. The Dustdevils didn't stop fighting though and kept the Buffs in check, only allowing them a 29-23 advantage going into the intermission.

WT came out of the break on fire, rattling off a 12-4 run to start the second half to take a 40-27 lead. However, just like in the first half, TAMIU battled back and trimmed the lead to just four points at 47-43 with just over 11 minutes remaining. The Buffs quickly stifled the Dustdevil comeback with a 9-0 run to take their largest lead at 57-43 less than two minutes later. Once again, TAMIU refused to go down without a fight as they cut the deficit to 60-54 with 2:21 left. Unfortunately, they were unable to complete the upset as WT took the victory 64-54.

The Dustdevils will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 30 as they travel to Lawton, Okla. for a matchup against Cameron.