LAREDO, Texas –Texas A&M International men's basketball had a chance to topple DBU at the buzzer, but fell just short of the victory, falling 54-53.
 
The first half was even early as the score stood 5-5 at the under 16-minute media timeout and 10-10 at the under 12-minute timeout.
 
Out of the under 12-minute media timeout, the Patriots (17-8, 10-3 LSC) used a 9-0 run to open up a 19-10 lead over the Dustdevils (12-11, 4-8 LSC).
 
The lead grew to as much as 10 at 28-18, but TAMIU used a late spurt to trail just 29-23 at the half.
 
The second half saw the two teams slug it out, with the Dustdevils fighting their way back and did so at 12:10 remaining when they tied the game 35-35, and then finally gained their first lead since leading 10-7 in the first half with 12:09 remaining, with 9:09 remaining in the second half.
 
The 9-0 run after trailing 40-38 helped TAMIU open their largest lead of the game, 47-40.
 
DBU battled back to tie it yet again at 49-49 with 4:00 remaining and after the teams traded scores, the Patriots got what would be the winning free-throw with 1:39 remaining.
 
The Dustdevils had a chance to win the game late, but a three-pointer at the buzzer hit the front of the rim to hand TAMIU the tough loss.
 
In the defeat, the Dustdevils shot 18-for-55 (32.7%) from the floor, 4-for-27 (14.8%) from behind the arc and 13-for-18 (72.2%) from the free-throw line.
 
On the other end, DBU shot 43.8%, going 21-for-48 and 6-for-20 (30%) from deep and just 6-for-13 from the charity stripe.
 
Senior Greg Bowie II led TAMIU as the only scorer in double figures with 19 points, alongside six rebounds and three steals.
 
Freshman Tiras Morton had another fantastic game on the boards, securing 15 on the night to go with five points, three assists and two blocks.
 
Junior La-Quiem Walker chipped in eight points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Tyrese Davis also added eight points.
 
TAMIU now looks to finish their regular season home schedule on a positive note as they meet Midwestern State for a 3 p.m. tip on Saturday, Feb. 19.