Men’s Basketball

SPORTS: Dustdevils season ends on positive note against Javelinas By Cesar OldhamBridge Staff InternPublished Tuesday, April 11, 2023 TAMIU men’s basketball ended its season with a close 65-64 victory over Texas A&M Kingsville. Due to Dallas Baptist University’s win against University of Texas—Tyler on Feb. 25, Texas A&M International University was pushed off the playoff bracket for the Lone Star Conference Tournament, though coach Mac McConnell was proud of his players’ efforts all season. Eight teams make it into that tournament. “I think we started to believe in each other, play for each other, share the ball, fight through adversity and just believe when we say team, family and believe in the culture even though we went through our ups and downs,” McConnell said. ...

SPORTS: Midwestern State defeats TAMIU Glenys MaldonadoSports EditorPublished Friday, March 18, 2022 The TAMIU men’s basketball team fell short against Midwestern State University, 66-61, at season’s end but flipped the entire program this season for a better tomorrow. Low scoring dominated early in the first half of the Feb. 19 game with the board reading just 2-2 before the 16-minute media timeout, and 14-10 with the Mustangs leading at the 12-minute media timeout that came at the 9:08 remaining mark. Samantha Gonzalez | BridgeSenior Greg Bowie II shoots against Midwestern State at TAMIU's Kinesiology and Convocation Building gymnasium on Feb. 19. The gap grew after the break, with the Mustangs running another nine points to their score, but the Dustdevils came back quick...

Dustdevils outjoust Knights By Orlando GonzalezBridge contributing writerOriginally published in the print edition on Friday, Nov. 19, 2021 After three consecutive wins in the regular season, the Dustdevils keep their momentum going with a 3-0 record. Coach Rodney “Mac” McConnell’s men’s basketball team defeated Chadron State University, South Dakota Mines University and stomped all over Southwestern Adventist University. Following Monday night’s 79-41 victory romp, Nov. 15, at home against SWAU, Texas A&M International University’s men showed they are a force to be reckoned with. This followed a 52-48 win on Nov. 13 over SDMU at Rapid City, South Dakota, and an 82-73 win on Nov. 12 over Chadron State at Chadron, Nebraska. David Gomez Jr. | BridgeSenior Greg Bowie II eyes ...

Men's basketball finishes season 1-13 By Cesar OldhamBridge contributing writerPublished Wednesday, May 5, 2021 After a difficult season, the men's Dustdevils basketball team limped away with only one Lone Star Conference win. The success was a 81-68 win against Oklahoma Christian University. Andrea Arias | Submitted Tre Thomas drives the ball in his game against Angelo State University on Feb. 26. Men's basketball coach Rodney “Mac” McConnell joined Texas A&M International University in March 2020 as the seventh coach for the team in Dustdevil history. “We showed glimpses of what we can be and [can] build on for the future,” McConnell said. “No head coach wants to win only one game in a year, no matter the circumstances. Therefore, I would say that this year's team ha...

A court 7,000 miles long  By Cesar NeiraBridge Contributing WriterPublished Friday, Feb. 12, 2021 Being a student athlete poses the challenge of having to balance studies with athletic responsibilities. Junior Texas A&M International University men’s basketball forward Tom Higgins does all this while being more than 7,000 miles from home.  Higgins, a criminal justice major, played basketball for most of his life. Born in Te Awamutu, New Zealand, he said his childhood was “great.” “You can go to the beach, mountains, cities in a heartbeat,” Higgins said. “I was lucky enough to experience most aspects of life.” Courtesy TAMIU Sports InformationTAMIU forward Tom Higgins When the opportunity to play for TAMIU came, he and his family grew excited. “It was my goal to pl...

Espinosa reflects on season By Julynne da Silva SaBridge contributing writerPublished Monday, April 27, 2020 Coach Jeremy Espinosa took over coaching responsibilities for the men’s basketball team, following the absence of coach Joel Taylor. On the transition from assistant coach to calling the shots, he talks about the challenges he overcame in order to be seen differently by his players. “The biggest challenge was changing the vibe of the team in a positive way,” Espinosa said. “At the same time not being too soft on the players. Creating that balance took time, but now it's at a place where I can have fun with the players off the court and be strictly business once it's time to get to work.”  Before he started coaching, Espinosa played junior college ball in Oklahoma a...

Dustdevils fall to RattlersEspinoza: ‘It’s all about heart’ By Angela CarranzaBridge Staff WriterPublished March 30, 2020 The Dustdevils men’s basketball team came up short against the Rattlers on Feb. 8, after losing 70-77 in overtime. Despite losing, the team holds optimism. Texas A&M International University started the game on a high note against St. Mary’s University. The first half of the game was undeniably close with neither team obtaining a two-possession lead. After the intermission, the score between both teams stayed close. Shortly after, the Dustdevils began to build points and took their first lead since the early half with the scoreboard at 43-41 and 12 minutes left in the game. Slowly, they began to build the lead to 60-53 with only 6:44 left to spare. M...