Men's Basketball Impressive rally comes short at Austin College in SCAC Opener

SHERMAN, Texas – A wild finish in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) resulted in the University of Dallas men's basketball team (8-2, 0-1 SCAC) falling 69-68 at Austin College (5-6, 1-0 SCAC). Dallas trailed by 13 points, its largest deficit, with 4:19 in regulation before rattling off a 15-3 stretch through the final buzzer.

With the score favoring AC 66-53, senior Aaron Wyatt (Frisco, Texas) connected on a pair of free throws to spark the nail-biting dramatics at the end. The forward would pour in a team-high 21 points and go 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.

Neither squad could get on the scoreboard for nearly three minutes until Wyatt finished a tip-in that would be the first of his second highest scoring performance of the campaign. Most of the first stanza was back-and-forth with the Roos' up 31-30 at the break.

It was a contest that would feature 11 lead changes and four ties, but Austin College gained momentum around the midway point of the final half. The home squad utilized a 12-4 run around that timeframe to build its first double-digit edge of the affair.

UD had countered early in the frame when the Roos' scored seven unanswered points, but this second surge appeared to be enough at the time to keep the navy and white at bay.

The Crusaders battled back hitting 10 of their 27 free throws sunk in the game, and applied heavy defense in the closing moments. After sophomore Michael Sarrat (Colleyville, Texas) nailed a trifecta to nip the margin to a point, Austin College turned the ball over giving Dallas possession with 21 seconds remaining. However, the road squad could not get the final jump shot to land on mark as time expired.

Joining Wyatt with a season-high 16 points in the team's double figure scoring performance category was fellow classmate Kym Malone (Richardson, Texas). Wyatt also claimed his third double-double of the year and Malone dished out four assists and went 10-of-14 from the free throw line.

Senior Blaine Blackburn (Midlothian, Texas), who picked the crucial steal up to give UD final possession, chipped in nine points.

The Crusaders did edge Austin College 40-33 on the boards, but did commit the highest amount of turnovers on the season with 19. The navy and white did support a greater field goal percentage 44.2 to 36.2. Both teams were woeful from downtown posting under 20 percent.

Pacing the Roos' offensively with a game-high 22 points was Jeremy Swisher. Alan Sullivan and Cedric Hudson added 11 and 10, respectively. Swisher and Hudson also pulled down a team-best six rebounds.

A trio of Austin College players notably fouled out as the squad was called for 33 fouls. The Crusaders were whistled for 19 in the affair.

Next Opponent:

Dallas will open a season-long, three-game home stand on Monday, January 5 at the Maher Athletic Center. UD will host Hendrix College around 7:30 p.m. after the women's basketball game concludes in a non-conference matchup.