NAMPA, Ida. – Texas A&M International men's basketball held on to conclude non-conference play with a 54-51 win over Northwest Nazerene in a defensive slugfest.
 
The first half was all Nighthawks early, as Northwest Nazarene (4-6, 1-1 GNAC) led 17-4 over the first 7:16.
 
TAMIU (8-4, 1-3 LSC) then bounced back and went on to outscore the Nighthawks 28-8 the remainder of the half to take a 32-25 lead in the locker room.
 
Out of halftime, the Dustdevils would open up a lead as many as 12 points, but Northwestern Nazarene would utilize runs to hang in and cut the deficit to just three.
 
Towards the end of the half, TAMIU would use a 6-0 to make it 54-45 with 2:58 remaining, but the Nighthawks cut the deficit back down to three with a 6-0 run of their own.
 
Northwest Nazarene had a chance with three seconds left, but the Dustdevils intercepted the deep pass to seal the victory.
 
For the game, TAMIU still finished the night going 20-for-50 (40%) from the floor and a great 10-for-19 (52.6%) from three. Free throws were a woe, going 4-for-10 on the night.
 
On the other side, Northwest Nazarene finished 19-for-41 (46.3%) from the field, just 3-for-11 (27.3%) from deep and were 10-for-20 from the foul line.
 
The Dustdevils were led offensively by senior Jermaine Drewey who scored 19 points behind four three pointers and he also collected six rebounds.
 
Sophomore Tiras Morton added 13 points, a team-high eight rebounds and two steals, while junior John Achebe contributed a filled stat line of three points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
TAMIU returns to action in Austin, Texas on Friday, Dec. 30 when they face St. Edward's for a 3 p.m. tip.