LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M International men's basketball swept the opening weekend, doing so in dominant fashion, defeating South Dakota Mines 81-57.
 
Over the first 5:49 of the first half, the score read 13-13 in an early defensive battle.
 
The remainder of the half was all TAMIU (2-0, 0-0 LSC) outscoring the Hardrockers (0-2, 0-0 RMAC) 36-15 to take a 49-28 lead into the half.
 
Over the first 20 minutes, the Dustdevils shot 18-for-31 (58.1%) from the floor and 6-for-11 (54.6%) from behind the arc.
 
Out of the locker room, South Dakota Mines trimmed the deficit to 15 over the first four minutes, but it was the closest the Hardrockers would come, as TAMIU would cruise to the end, holding a lead as high as 27 to seal the victory.
 
Over the next 7:03, Chadron State would nearly crawl all the way back, cutting the deficit to 55-53 with 5:43 remaining.
 
For the game, the Dustdevils shot just under 50%, going 28-for-57 (49.1%) from the floor and a smooth 11-for-21 (52.4%) from three. After a rough free-throw shooting night in the season opener, TAMIU would make 73.7% from the line, making 14 of 19.
 
On the other side, South Dakota Mines finished 24-for-57 (42.1%) from the floor, but were held to just 4-for-17 (23.5%) from behind the arc.
 
Senior Shea Rax scored a team-high 14 points on the night, doing so making four of six shots from distance.
 
Fellow senior Jermaine Drewey added 11 points, as well as junior Mike Rivera.
 
The Dustdevils cleaned the glass, outrebounding the Hardrockers 39-21, with sophomores Tiras Morton and John Achebe both having eight on the night.
 
TAMIU returns to the floor on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. when they welcome Western Colorado inside the KCB for a 7 p.m. tip.