Men's Basketball tops UC Santa Cruz with big Second Half Performance
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The University of Dallas men's basketball team (1-0) began the 2014 campaign with a 64-57 win versus University of California-Santa Cruz (0-1) on Saturday afternoon. Dallas outscored the Banana Slugs in the second half by 10 points to erase a 34-31 halftime deficit and capture its first victory of the year.
The Crusaders jumped out to a 7-2 advantage before UC Santa Cruz responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead. It would remain back-and-forth until just under the halfway point of the first half.
With Dallas up 16-15 and 10:20 minutes left, the home squad posted back-to-back three pointers by James Townsend and Corey Cilia to kick off a 10-0 stretch that senior Aaron Wyatt (Frisco, Texas) ended off a layup with 7:39 remaining until intermission. The forward added a trifecta on the next UD possession, and fellow classmate Blaine Blackburn (Midlothian, Texas) nipped the deficit back to a pair on a shot with just under six minutes to go.
Another scoring span by the Banana Slugs extended the lead briefly, however the navy and white closed the frame out in strong fashion; scoring six of the final eight points, to stay three behind.
In the first 10 minutes of the second stanza, the momentum never shifted as each side exchanged baskets throughout.
A pair of sophomore Tom Kaiser (Nashville, Tenn.) free throws with 10:04 remaining lifted the Crusaders up 46-44 and they never relinquished the advantage the rest of the contest. Dallas carried a 6-2 point shift just over seven minutes on the clock.
After a two minute scoring drought from both squads, UD remained consistent holding the home team at bay until the final moments of regulation.
UC Santa Cruz did cut the margin to 60-57 with 28 seconds, but Dallas notched its final eight points all on free throw attempts to seal the season-opener in the win column. The Crusaders were 18-for-23 from the charity stripe, and their opposition also was successful posting a 14-17 performance.
Wyatt and Kaiser each claimed double-figures with 15 points apiece, and Kaiser was shy of a double-double pulling a team-best, eight rebounds. The duo also combined to go 9-for-11 shooting free throws and were big turning the momentum for Dallas throughout the affair.
Sophomore Michael Sarrat (Colleyville, Texas) and Blackburn contributed solid nights with nine points each, and senior Mark Promberger (Phoenix, Ariz.) returned from after missing last season to debut with seven.
The navy and white shot 41 percent from the floor while UC Santa Cruz totaled a 38 field goal percentage.
Dallas was just outrebounded 34-30, but won the turnover battle committing just 13 compared to their opponent's 23.
Up Next:
Dallas stays in Santa Cruz, California, on Sunday to face University of Redlands. First tip is slated at 1 p.m. (PST)
