LAREDO, Texas – Texas A&M International men's basketball fought off a late rally from DBU on Saturday afternoon at home to win 64-58 and claim back-to-back victories for the first time in conference play and defeat the Patriots for the first time since Feb. 20, 2016 (10 games).
 
The Dustdevils (11-7, 4-6 LSC) led by 16 points with 1:43 left in the game before the Patriots (10-8, 5-5 LSC) closed the game on a 12-2 run.
 
The two squads started the game trading buckets through the first ten minutes, with neither team leading by more than three points.
 
Sophomore Tiras Morton changed that with a jumper midway through the first half, giving TAMIU a 19-15 lead.
 
The Dustdevils closed the first half on a 16-8 run, ending with a three pointer from graduate student Greg Bowie II with 47 seconds remaining.
 
DBU opened the second half on a 10-3 run, but TAMIU slowly pulled away over the next 15 minutes, and another perimeter shot from Bowie gave the Dustdevils a 16-point lead with 1:43 left. The 16-point deficit was the largest of the contest.
 
TAMIU shot 25-of-52 (48.1%) from the field and 10-of-24 (41.7%) from behind the arc. On the other side, the Patriots shot 22-of-51 (43.1%) from the field and 7-of-21 (33.3%) from deep.
 
Four players ended in double figures for Dustdevils, with Bowie leading the way with 20 points behind 6-for-8 shooting behind the arc.
 
Senior Jermaine Drewey added 18 points, five rebounds and three steals, while Morton scored 14 with five rebounds and five assists.
 
Junior John Achebe was the fourth player in double figures with 10 points and a team high eight boards.
 
The Dustdevils are in action next at 8:30 p.m. CST/7:30 p.m. MST on Thursday, Jan. 19 at Eastern New Mexico (10-5, 5-4 LSC) in Portales, N.M.