Canyon, Texas – Texas A&M International men's basketball lost to West Texas A&M 71-45 on Tuesday on the road.
The Dustdevils (5-5, 1-3 LSC) started the game on a 9-4 run after
Jaylen Thompson hit a 3 nearly six minutes into the game.
The Buffaloes (8-1, 4-0 LSC) started to find their groove and went on a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to take an 18-9 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the half.
West Texas A&M went on a 10-5 run over the next five minutes and led 28-14 with five minutes left in the half and ended the final five minutes on an 8-5 run to take a 36-19 lead into the break.
TAMIU started the second half on an 8-2 after a jumper from
Shannon Strickland closed the gap to 38-27 with 16 minutes left in the game, but the Buffaloes started to roll again and went on a 12-2 run to take a 50-29 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the contest.
Over the next five minutes, West Texas A&M outscored the Dustdevils 10-6 to stretch the lead to 60-35 with just over six minutes left in the game. The teams traded baskets back and forth the rest of the contest with the Buffaloes earning the 71-45 victory.
Mike Rivera and
Mathew Okoye led TAMIU in scoring with eight points each, Thompson scored seven and
John Achebe ended with six. Rivera also hauled in a team-high 12 rebounds and dished out four assists.
