Laredo, Texas – Texas A&M International men's basketball opened up Lone Star Conference play with a 66-57 victory over UT Permian Basin at home on Thursday night after holding the Falcons to just 34.7% from the field.  

The game started as a back-and-forth defensive battle with the score sitting at 6-6 after Esteban Roacho made a layup nearly five minutes into the game.  

The Dustdevils (5-2, 1-0 LSC) then went on a 12-6 run capped by a layup from John Achebe at the midway point of the first half to give his team an 18-12 lead.  

Over the next five minutes TAMIU held the Falcons (4-2, 0-1 LSC) scoreless to stretch its lead to 23-12 with just 6:23 left in the first half.  

UT Permian Basin took advantage of some trips to the free throw line at the end of the half to close the gap to 34-27 by the break.  

Like the first half, the second half started back-and-forth and the Dustdevils held on to a 42-35 lead after Emaniel Alexandre made a layup with 15:36 left in the game.  

The Dustdevils started to find their offense and went on a 9-5 run over the next five minutes to stretch their lead to 51-40.  

TAMIU continued to pull away and would lead by as many as 16 after a layup from Mike Rivera with just over five minutes left in the game to take a 58-42 lead.  

The Falcons closed the game on a 15-8 run but didn't come any closer than eight points down the stretch.  

Achebe led the Dustdevils with 13 points while grabbing six rebounds and swiping a team-high five steals. Matthew Okoye and Garrett Falls both scored nine points.  

Rivera hauled in a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.  

One of the biggest discrepancies in the game came in bench points with the Dustdevils totaled 35 points off the bench compared to just 17 for the Falcons.  

TAMIU is in action next at 3 p.m. on Saturday at home against Angelo State.