LAREDO, Texas –Texas A&M International men's basketball opened the game with a flurry, but were unable to keep the momentum, falling to St. Mary's 58-51.
 
TAMIU (11-7, 3-4 LSC) opened the game with a big run, jumping out to an 11-2 lead in the first 6:35.
 
After that, it was all Rattlers (10-7, 7-1 LSC) as they went on a 17-0 run to take a 19-11 lead. The run lasted from 13:11 remaining until 7:03 remaining.
 
The Dustdevils ended the run with free-throws, but after making a shot from the floor with 13:26 left, didn't do so again until 3:51 remaining, a near 10-minute drought from the floor.
 
The deficit was trimmed by TAMIU to 25-23, but a buzzer-beater gave St. Mary's a 27-23 lead at the half.
 
Out of the break, the Rattlers continued to push ahead, opening a 10-point lead in the opening three minutes.
 
The Dustdevils would trail by double figures for more than 12 minutes, until a 10-2 run after trailing 51-39, made the score 53-49. The run came from 4:17-1:13.
 
Unfortunately, it was the closest TAMIU would come to tying the game, as St. Mary's scored five of the final seven points to seal the victory.
 
In the loss, the Dustdevils shot just 17-for-53 (32.1%) from the floor and 4-for-19 (21.1%) from behind the arc. TAMIU did, however, shoot 13-for-15 from the free-throw line.
 
On the other end, the Rattlers also shot under 40%, going 21-for-55 (38.2%) and just 3-for-18 (16.7%) from deep.
 
Senior Greg Bowie II was the only Dustdevil in double figures, scoring a game high 22 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
 
Junior Jermaine Drewey followed with eight points and four rebounds.
 
TAMIU now looks to end the brief two-game skid, as they welcome St. Edward's to the KCB on Saturday, Feb. 5 for a 3 p.m. tip.