TAMIU Sports Notes
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Texas A&M International University will host a couple of games this weekend before hitting the road for seven straight road games. Langston will visit the Kinesiology and Convocation Building for a non-conference game on Saturday before Bacone College arrives for a Red River Athletic Conference clash on Monday. Saturday’s game will tip-off at 3 p.m. and Monday’s game will start at 7:30 p.m.
Langston is in its first season as a NCAA Division II member after participating as members of the Red River Athletic Conference for several years. Bacone enters Saturday’s game at UT-Permian Basin in second place in the RRAC with a 3-0 conference mark (5-5 overall). Langston holds a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series with TAMIU while the series mark between Bacone and the Dustdevils stands even at 2-2.
The Program & Head Coach
The TAMIU men’s basketball team is competing as a third year program as members of the NAIA and Red River Athletic Conference. Tarvish Felton (Southern Utah, 1999) was hired as TAMIU’s first coach in September, 2002. He guided the Dustdevils to a 24-39 overall record in the program’s first two years. After finishing 10th in the RRAC regular season standings in 2003-04 the Dustdevils finished fifth in the final conference standings last season, qualifying for the conference postseason tournament for the first time. Felton has a career and school record of 27-48.
Noteworthy
Senior Reggie López scored a career-high 21 points in Wednesday’s loss to UT-Permian Basin. He connected on 5 of 10 three-point attempts against the Falcons. López’s previous high-point game was an 18-point effort in a win over Paul Quinn College on Dec. 10 ... Senior Bo Aluka places in the top-20 of the NAIA individual rankings with a 16.7 points per game scoring average. He has scored in double-figures in eight of 10 games played, topping the 20-point mark twice.
WOMEN
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TAMIU will host Langston on Saturday and Bacone College on Monday. After hosting the two Oklahoma schools the Dustdevils will play seven straight road games. Saturday’s game will tip-off at 5 p.m. with Monday’s contest scheduled for a 5:30 start.
Langston is a former member of the Red River Athletic Conference playing its first season as a NCAA Division II provisional member. Bacone College enters Saturday’s game at UT-Permian Basin with a 3-0 mark in RRAC play (8-3 overall). Langston holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series with TAMIU while the Dustdevils hold a 4-0 advantage in the all-time series with Bacone.
The Program & Head Coach
The TAMIU women’s basketball team is competing as a third year program as members of the NAIA and Red River Athletic Conference. Head coach Marc García (Trinity, 1993) began the task of building a new program in September 2002. He guided the Dustdevils to a 31-34 overall record in the program’s first two seasons, with the Dustdevils qualifying for the conference postseason tournament both seasons. García has a career and school record of 40-38.
Noteworthy
TAMIU is off to its best start in conference play in the three-year history of the program at 5-1. The Dustdevils were 1-5 after six games in 2003-04 and 3-3 after six games last season ... The Dustdevils are also off to their best overall start in the program’s short history. TAMIU stood at 1-12 at this point of the season two years ago and 6-7 overall last season ... Junior Vanessa Villarreal ranks amongst the NAIA national leaders with a 19.8 points per game scoring average. She has scored in double-figures in 12 of 13 games this season and 70 of 78 games for her career. Villarreal has scored 20 or more points a total of 34 times ... Sophomore Nicole Gipson ranks in the top-5 of the NAIA individual rankings in blocks (3.46 bpg) and junior Jermina Tomlinson places in the top-10 in steals (3.5 spg).
Source: TAMIU Athletics
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