LAREDO, Texas - Texas A&M International men's basketball made an early statement on Saturday, taking down #15 Colorado Mesa 73-62. 

Scoring was limited over the first seven minutes, as it was the Mavericks (3-1, 0-0 RMAC) who held a 13-12 edge. 

TAMIU would respond to take the lead, as the Dustdevils (4-0, 0-0 LSC) used a 7-0 run to gain the lead at 19-13.

Colorado Mesa stormed back, taking a 26-24 lead at the 6:14 mark. The lead was short lived, as TAMIU would us a 13-1 run over the remainder of the half to lead 39-27 at the break.

The Dustdevils shot 46.7% (14-for-30) in the first half and a blistering 66.7% (6-for-9) from three.

TAMIU would hold steady in the second half, growing its lead to as many as 19 on multiple occasions with it only dropping to 10 at its lowest. 

In the victory, the Dustdevils shot 49.1% (26-for-53) from the floor and were 50% (9-for-18) from behind the arc, all while hitting -2-of-16 free throws.

The Mavericks ended the night shooting 45.5% (20-for-44) from the field and 37.5% (6-for-16) from deep. Mesa capitalized on 16-of-28 free throws, but were just 4-for-12 from the stripe in the second half. 

With a 4-0 start and a ranked win under its belt, TAMIU prepares to travel to Fairbanks, Alaska for the Alaska Fairbanks Thanksgiving Tournament. The first game is against the host Alaska Fairbanks on Friday, Nov. 25 with tip at 5:30 p.m. CST/2:30 p.m. AKST.