LAREDO, Texas - Texas A&M International men's basketball (3-20, 1-16 LSC) came up short 77-70 in an overtime thriller against St. Mary's (10-13, 6-11 LSC) on Saturday.
Three players led the scoring for the Dustdevils. Sophomore Tom Higgins, senior Caleb Highley and freshman Jorge Mejias-Sanchez all posted 14 points. Higgins and Highley both logged double-doubles with 11 rebounds apiece. Higgins added a steal, while Higley added a block and a steal. Meijas-Sanchez added an assist and a steal. Junior Calvin Fugett Jr. contributed nine points with six assists, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
The first half was incredibly close with neither team getting more than a two possession lead. TAMIU went up early 8-5. The Rattlers rebounded to take their first lead 9-8. StMU held the slimmest of leads for the majority of the period taking a 30-26 advantage into the break.
Things stayed close after the intermission. The Dustdevils began to build momentum and took their first lead since early in the first half at 43-41 with just over 12 minutes left. They slowly began to build their lead, growing it to its largest at 60-53 with 6:44 left. The Rattlers refused to go down with out a fight though and managed to send the game to overtime, tying things at 65-65 with 25 seconds left.
In overtime, StMU carried their momentum and ripped off a 7-0 run to start the period and take a 72-65 lead. The Dustdevils battled, but foul trouble and free throws kept them from getting within more than four points of the lead. The Rattlers eventually took the victory 77-70.
TAMIU will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 15 as they travel to Kingsville, Texas for a matchup against Texas A&M-Kingsville.