The Ouachita Baptist University men’s basketball team couldn’t recover from a 16-point first-half deficit in falling 74-63 to Texas A&M-International Saturday afternoon at the Recreation and Convocation Center on the campus of St. Edward’s University.
The Tigers, who shot just 26 percent in the first half, opened the second half with a layup by Jaranimo Marks to cut the margin to 37-26, but the Dustdevils used a 7-0 run to grab their largest lead of the day, 44-26.
Marks’ layup with 16:07 remaining cut the deficit to 44-28, but against Texas A&M-International answered as Ignacio Garcia stole an inbounds pass and scored on a layup to increase the lead to 46-38.
Ouachita used a 12-4 run to try to climb back into the game as Rowan Ledbetter drained a 3-pointer with 10:25 remaining to cut the deficit to 51-40. However, Mark Walton sank a trey at the other end to push the margin to 54-40 with 9:04 left.
The two teams traded buckets over the next two minutes, but the Dustdevils took control over the final eight minutes to put the game away.
The Dustdevils (1-0) opened the game on a 5-0 run, but the Tigers, who had 12 turnovers in the opening half and finished with 28, cut the margin to 5-2 after a pair of free throws by Marks. Texas A&M-International, which scored 27 points off turnovers, continued to lead the game and grabbed a 13-4 margin on back-to-back buckets by Jerante Morgan with 15:24 remaining in the first half.
Ouachita, which was 6-of-23 in the first half shooting from the field, trailed by 12 points until Daniel Maddox’s 3-pointer cut the Dustdevil advantage to 17-8 with 11:45 left in the half.
After a media timeout, Spencer Foreman scored on back-to-back layups to increase the lead to 24-11. A technical foul on Ouachita coach Charlie Schaef gave the Dustdevils, who were 13-of-31 from the first in the first half, another opportunity to push the advantage as Sean Tucker connected on a pair of free throws to give Texas A&M-International a 26-11 lead.
A basket by Ledbetter and a free throw by Ed Keyes cut the deficit to 26-14 with a little over six minutes remaining in the first half. But a 3-pointer by Derek Barnes continued to increase the lead to 29-14 with 5:55 left in the half.
A Maddox short jumper cut the Dustdevil lead to 35-24 with 19 seconds left in the first half, but Barnes sank a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to give Texas A&M-International a 37-24 halftime lead.
Maddox recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Marks finished with 15 points, while Keyes added 12.
Morgan paced the Dustdevils with 17 points, while Tucker and Barnes added 14 and 13, respectively.
Ouachita, which shot 20-of-58 from the floor for 34.5 percent against Texas A&M-International, concludes St. Edward’s Shootout Classic tournament play 8 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 16 at the Recreation and Convocation Center against host St. Edward’s.
