Austin, Texas – The Dustdevils (11-10, 7-8) took on St. Edward's (16-7, 9-5) on the road in Lone Star Conference play Saturday afternoon. The Dustdevils rallied in a big second half but fell just short to the Hilltoppers, 72-66.

Junior Shannon Strickland provided the offensive spark for the Dustdevils in the first half, tallying 10 points off the bench. The Dustdevil bench made a big contribution in the first twenty minutes, scoring 15 of the team's 31 points. On the other side, the Hilltopper bench was scoreless against the Dustdevil defense.

TAMIU shot 12-30 (40%) from the field and 4-13 (30.8%) from three-point range. St. Edward's shot 17-27 (63%) from the field and 3-9 (33.3%) from beyond the arc, going into halftime with a 47-31 lead.

The Dustdevils came out hot in the second half looking to close the gap. With a 14-2 scoring run, TAMIU got themselves within two with 1:33 left in the game. Despite outscoring the Hilltoppers 35-25 in the second half, the Hilltoppers edged out the win.

In the second half, the Dustdevils shot 13-27 (48%) from the field and 2-5 (40%) from three-point range. St. Edward's shot just 10-22 (45.5%) from the field and 0-5 from beyond the arc. The Dustdevil defense forced eight turnovers from the Hilltoppers in the second half and turned it into 12 points on the other end of the court.

Emaniel Alexandre led the Dustdevils with 14 points, Strickland and John Achebe also contributing 10 and eight respectively. Alexandre and Mike Rivera both tallied seven rebounds.

The Dustdevils return home next week to face the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.