Men's Basketball prevails in Overtime on Sunday
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The University of Dallas men's basketball team (2-0) won a thriller on Sunday afternoon to leave California undefeated after a 75-73 overtime victory.
Dallas forced extra regulation on a senior Blaine Blackburn (Midlothian, Texas) three-pointer with 19 seconds left to tie the affair 66-66 versus University of Redlands (0-1). The Bulldogs couldn't answer as Kyle Milligan missed a jumper near the end of the game clock expiring.
The Crusaders gathered an 11-9 shooting advantage in overtime, with sophomore Michael Sarrat (Colleyville, Texas) sinking a pair of free throws as consequence of being fouled on an offensive rebound. His two baskets from the charity stripe broke a tie with 25 seconds left.
The guard would be clutch on the next play, forcing a steal to lift Dallas to a perfect road trip on opening weekend.
Each team played even in the first two frames of this contest, with the Redlands holding a 38-37 edge at halftime.
In the second stanza, the navy and white shifted the momentum in favor of them by building its largest lead of the day, 50-38. Six unanswered points would spark an eventual 22-9 scoring swing that put the Bulldogs in front by one with 6:13 remaining.
The rest of the half turned into a defensive slugfest, as neither squad posted a basket for over three minutes.
Senior Aaron Wyatt (Frisco, Texas) tied things at 63 apiece with 1:36 left, but the Redlands pushed three-straight points before Sarratt's heroic trey.
A quartet of UD players notched double-digits in scoring with senior Kym Malone (Richardson, Texas) joining Blackburn, Sarratt, and Wyatt in that category. Blackburn posted a team-best 16, while Wyatt and Sarratt each chipped in 15 apiece.
Wyatt claimed a double-double by pulling down 12 rebounds. Malone added 14, and the guard dished out five assists to lead the road squad.
For the Bulldogs, Aljosa Bjekovic paced the team with a game-high 28 points and 14 boards for a double-double. Sean Milligan poured in 20.
Dallas held a slight shooting edge from the field, outdoing University of Redlands 42 to 40 percent. Free throws were a factor as the Crusaders did well for the second contest in a row, going 14-for-17. The Bulldogs struggled at 17-for-24, and did factor into the result down the stretch.
Next Opponent:
Dallas enjoys a week off and will remain on the road next week. The team travels to Sherman, Texas for a pair of neutral site affairs hosted on fellow SCAC opponent, Austin College's, court. Opposing the navy and white will be Howard Payne University on November 21 at 6 p.m. and Sul Ross State University on November 22 at 2 p.m.