Men's Basketball edges Texas Lutheran in Big Road Win on Friday
SEGUIN, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team picked up an important road victory at Texas Lutheran University with a 69-64 final. Dallas held the Bulldogs to three points in the last 3:39 minutes, and were able to score eight of the final 11 during that span. This included six free throws in as many attempts at the charity stripe.
Darrius Colvin (Waco, Texas) and Spencer Levi (St. Louis, Mo.) combined for 44 points, with 15 and 14, respectively, in the second half. Levi had another huge game on the boards with a game-high 16 (half on both sides) to earn his 12th double-double on the campaign.
The Crusaders ended a three-game conference slide, which included a 68-52 setback to TLU a week ago in Irving. They had dropped seven head-to-head meetings with Texas Lutheran, and the past three seasons in Seguin. The visitors improved to 10-8 overall and 4-4 in SCAC contests, while the Bulldogs fell to 7-11 and 3-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a back-and-forth game throughout the evening with 13 ties and 14 lead changes. Dallas trailed as many five in the early stages, but knotted the score a third time at 12-12 thanks to a Colvin dunk.
The junior put the team up briefly with a pair of free throws with just under half to play. The Bulldogs answered on a layup, and then Levi hit two at the line that started a stretch of seven unanswered points. That surge gave UD its greatest lead of the game 21-14 with 5:07 left. Emmanuel Calton (Keller, Texas) and John Russell (Bossier City, La.) posted layups and then Calton hit the backend of two free throws to cap the spurt.
Texas Lutheran countered over the next couple minutes with a 12-2 scoring swing to gain the momentum entering the break. After missing the first eight field goals from the three-point arc, Jacob Kouremetis nailed a trey that put the home squad back in front 24-23. Alex Cage finished that run by following with a jumper. The other made trey by either team that frame was by Sebastian Andrade to make it a 31-28 halftime score.
The Crusaders did not attempt a single three-point shot that half, but were 10-for-15 at the free throw line. Levi had netted all seven of his points from the stripe and made his first field goal to start the next stanza.
Dallas came out of intermission strong as Colvin followed Levi's first layup with a jumper. Calton then swiped a steal and found Levi for a huge slam that gave the team its first lead of the half, 37-36.
Colvin made the first three of the game for UD, and then had a fastbreak layup lift his team up 44-39. There were six more ties after that, but only two lead changes. Dallas clung to the narrow lead, but the Bulldogs went on top with 4:19 left in the game on Andrade's three-pointer.
Russell hit the game-tying layup a few plays later to knot it at 61 with 3:20 left. Dallas then held its opponent without a point the next 3:36 minutes. Levi, who finished a free throw shy of a season-high by going 11-for-15, put the Crusaders ahead for good on two free throws with just under two remaining. Turnovers by both teams followed and then the Bulldogs go-ahead look from downtown missed. Michael Wambsganss (Denver, Colo.) dropped a crucial layup, and then Nunn made a pair of free throws after another missed three by TLU.
Nathan Josephs finally got the Bulldogs a three, which cut the six-point deficit in half with three ticks left on the clock, but Colvin iced the game for Dallas with both free throw shots made.
STAT NOTABLES
Colvin scored a game-high 23 points, while posting seven rebounds and three assists. His point total was the highest in an away game this season. Levi followed closely with 21 points and grabbed 16 boards for his fifth game in a row with a double-double. The freshman also added three blocks - eclipsing 50 on the season. Russell notched 12 points for consecutive games with double-digits.
Dallas shot 46.8 percent overall, while going just 2-for-7 from three-point territory. Most of its damage was at the free throw line by shooting 23-for-32 (71.9%) led by Levi's 11-for-15 and Colvin's 7-for-9. The road team also won the advantage on the glass 40-29, and had a 36-28 edge on points in the paint.
TLU forced UD into 21 turnovers while committing 16 of its own. The Bulldogs scored an 18-12 advantage on points from the miscues. They shot 36.5 percent from the field and were 6-of-23 (26.1%) from downtown.
Josephs scored a team-high 16 points with a perfect (9-9) display at the charity stripe. Kouremetis tossed in 15, while Andrade chimed in with 11 bench points. The duo combined for five of the team's made treys.
TIP-INS
The victory counts as 105 for Head Coach Jarred Samples. This triumph also surpasses the team's overall total from 2016-17.
Dallas surpassed 20 made free throws in the 5th contest this season. This is the fourth time versus an SCAC opponent.
This is the fourth game on the year that UD has achieved double-digits in steals. Had 10 on Friday.
SOCIAL MEDIA
#UDCrusaders WIN! Colvin and Levi lead the way with 44 points combined! Levi earns 12th double-double! | @UDallasMBB #GoUD #UDMBB #SCACmbb #d3h pic.twitter.com/br8XccDcm4
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) January 27, 2018
UP NEXT
Dallas has a quick turnaround with Southwestern University on Saturday. First tip is scheduled at 4 p.m.