Oklahoma Panhandle State University

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Laredo, Texas—Saturday's Heartland Conference double-header ended in defeat for both Panhandle State basketball teams. Despite a strong effort by the Aggie women, Texas A&M-International took their second win of the season by a three-point margin (55-52) in the first game of the day; the men's team dropped a 76-63 loss to the Dustdevils in game two.

Panhandle's women kept it a close contest throughout, trailing by eight at the half (31-23) and winning the last two periods 29-24. The Aggies were within one point of their opponent (53-52) at the close of the fourth quarter, but a good jump shot in the paint by TAMIU in the final seconds sealed the victory for the home team.

All but four of Panhandle's points came from the starting five, with Darby Price and Taylor Acosta accounting for the bulk of the numbers scoring 19 points apiece in the game. Price earned hers on eight field goals and one-of-one at the line, while Acosta added points with five three-point shots and four-of-four free throws. Addison Munsch was another leading contributor putting up nine points. International's Hannah Beede held the game-high in scoring with 20 point and led the game in rebounds with 13; Beede owned the only double-double of the game.

The Aggies battled at the boards outrebounding the Dustdevils 39-28. Price had the team-high bringing down nine rebounds, and Hannah Whitaker and Denise Levine hauled in six and seven boards respectively. Acosta and Munsch combined for nine rebounds while the Aggie bench contributed the remaining eight. TAMIU's Joanna Perez led the game with seven of the team's 11 total assists; the Aggies totaled 17 assists in the game led by Munsch with four.

For the game both teams shot at 32 percent from the field with the Aggies leading by ten percent beyond the arc and over twenty percent at the line. The Dustdevils now hold two wins on the season and two wins within the Heartland. The Aggies fall to a 1-15 overall record and sit 0-8 in conference play. Coach Charles Terry said this after the game, "This team continues to battle hard. We can really defend when we play as hard as we have been, but have to start making shots more consistently. This one got away from us, but I'm still very proud of these young ladies."

The men's team improved from Thursday's disappointing performance in San Antonio, but still struggled ball security giving up 23 points on turnovers to TAMIU. A slow start on Saturday added to the challenge as Panhandle managed only two points in the first five minutes of play. The Aggies trailed 16-2 at the 15:42 mark and went into the locker room down by eight at the half (43-35). Second-half shooting dropped from 50 percent to 38 percent for Panhandle, and performance from the Aggie bench brought only three points after the break.

Four Aggie starters combined for 49 points with Malcolm Glanville leading the pack at 16 points; Jace Kerr, Tevin Lytes and Sita Sesay each put up eleven points for Panhandle. The Dustdevils had two players sharing the game-high with Glanville as Denzel Bellot and Jordan VanDeKop totaled 16 points apiece. VanDeKop was also the game's leader at the boards with seven rebounds; Sesay finished with a team-high of six rebounds for the Aggies. Head Coach Jerry Olson was very pleased with his team's efforts at the boards, outrebounding their opponents 26-20. The Aggies totaled 13 assists in the game with Pierre Roddy and Riyadh Asad offering up 11 at six and five assists each. TAMIU's Kenny Hatch led the game with seven assists on the day.

Olson added further comment stating, "We competed and played much harder than Thursday, but still turned the ball over too much. We are giving up a lot of points off turnovers and that kills you." The Aggie men now sit 5-12 overall with a 0-8 Heartland record; the Dustdevils currently lead the league with a 7-2 conference record and hold a 13-6 record on the season.

Panhandle State Basketball will wrap up a long road stint this week with matchups in Austin and Oklahoma City. The Aggies will take on St. Edward's Thursday, Jan. 26 with games at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday's contests against Oklahoma Christian will open with the women's game at 1 p.m. and the men will follow at 3 p.m. Fans can keep up with live stats and video offered online.