Dustdevils settle for nothing else but victory

The Dustdevil men's basketball team dominated Oklahoma Panhandle State during their game on February 8.

Men's Basketball Head Coach Curtis Condie went into the game with the mentality of "the team that gets the most rebounds will get the win."

This strategy worked out really well for the Dustdevils, who out-rebounded the opposing team by six and came up with a win.

Though the game was close for the first eight minutes of the game, the Dustdevils' 5-0 run gave them the commanding lead.

Angel Encina, Dustdevil point guard said, "We are playing the best basketball we've ever played; the only down fall is that it is the end of the season and we won't get to do it much longer."

The level of execution and effort was high for the men's team. Following their 5-0 run, the Dustdevils finished the first half with a 10-point lead.

The second half resembled the first half as the men's team managed to hold an average lead of 10 points throughout the rest of the game.

Encina, which played the entire 40 minutes of the game, was a huge contribution to the Dustdevils' win of 76-66.  How can Encina's leadership be described?

Condie states, "Angel is a man and he definitely plays like a man."

Encina doesn't sub out the entire game and admits that he has to be "mentally tough to fight any physical fatigue that may prevent him from performing to the best of his ability."

"I have two goals on my mind: win and get my team involved while keeping them focused" said Encina.

Encina's leadership along with Condie's coaching methods has led the Dustdevils to many victories this year.  The team holds a record 0f 7-5 in conference, placing them in fourth place.

Condie adds, "This is a huge improvement from the past years, we are just taking it one game at a time."

The Dustdevils came out with a decisive victory of 76-66. Leading all scorers was Martell Lewis with 17 points, Chris Swan with 16, and Encina with 15 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds.

---------------------*************_-------------Courtesy of Dan Lathey,Associate AD./Sports Info,Athletics Department

Leon Jacob led Texas A&M International with 19 points in a 77-47 win over UT-Permian Basin on Saturday night at the Kinesiology Building on campus. Martell Lewis finished with 16 points and Angel Encinas contributed 12 points and 12 assists for the Dustdevils.

TAMIU started the second half with a 14-6 run, taking a 52-32 lead on a jumper by Lewis at the 14:19 mark. UTPB would get no closer than 16 points the rest of the way.