Dallas Pushes Past Texas Lutheran University 76-71 for Crucial Conference Victory

IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team took down Texas Lutheran University 76-71 inside the Maher Center to snap a five-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. The Crusaders (12-10, 8-7 SCAC) used a 16-26 (61.5) mark and nine made free throws in the first half to take a 43-28 lead into the halftime break. Texas Lutheran (12-10, 9-6 SCAC) was limited to a 31.6% from the field and only made one three-pointer on 10 attempts in that first half. The Bulldogs then stormed back and forced the first tie of the game (61-61) since it was 0-0 at the 7:14 mark. With three minutes left to play the game was tied at 68 apiece. Jai Love (St. Louis, Mo.) hit a free throw to give the Crusaders back the lead. After a few missed opportunities on both sides, Love then grew the Dallas lead to three (71-68) with his steal and lay-in. Later Love added two more key free throws with 36 seconds remaining to give UD a 73-68 advantage. Jordan Kite hit a deep three to cut the lead to two points with 13 seconds left. Cameran Hyde (Missouri City, Texas) iced the game with two more free throws in the final seconds to give Dallas the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) victory.

The Crusaders began the contest with an 8-2 lead. After a couple of TLU layups, Love hit the first three-pointer of the game to put Dallas up 11-6. UD later pushed its lead to 14-10 and extended it to 19-10 with a 5-0 run capped off by a Letrell Toussaint (Waco, Texas) layup. With 4:19 left in the half UD used a 13-2 run to blow past the Bulldogs and open up a 40-22 lead. The Crusaders took a 43-28 lead into the locker room. Dallas shot 16-26 (61.5%) in the opening half.

TLU outscored Dallas 12-6 in the first two minutes. Dallas held onto a 54-43 five minutes into the half, but the Bulldogs found their rhythm from behind the arc to inch closer. Just as the Bulldogs got within eight points, Dustin Mathis (Fort Worth, Texas) hit a timely three-pointer to give Dallas a double-digit lead once again (59-48). TLU then scored five-straight points (59-53). Out of the under eight media timeout TLU used a 5-0 run to tie the game at 61. UD then scored five-straight points, capped off by a running floater by Isaiah Hayes (Arlington, Texas) to put Dallas up 65-61. Sebastian Andrade made three consecutive points for TLU to make it a one-point game with six minutes to play. Andrade later tied the game at 68 with his jumper. Love then helped Dallas go up 73-68 with his solo 5-0 run with 36 ticks left. Kite nailed a trey to give the Bulldogs life (73-71) with just 19 seconds remaining. Love and Hyde put the game away with key free throws to allow Dallas to grab a big conference victory and snap a two-game slide in conference play. 

John Russell (Bossier City, La.) paced Dallas with a season-high 18 points (8-12 from the field), eight rebounds, and two blocked shots. Love and Dustin Mathis both added 15 points for the Crusaders, as Toussaint finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. UD grabbed a 27-55 (49.1%) effort from the field and a 18-25 (72.0%) from the charity stripe. Dallas tied a season-low with only eight turnovers. UD was able to take down Texas Lutheran for the first time inside the Maher Center since 2015.  

Texas Lutheran was led by Caleb Lister who finished with 18 points after shooting 7-19 from the floor. Andrade added 14 points, while Jamir Mason and Trystin Silas contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively. TLU finished the game with a 39.7% (29-73) mark from the field and 31.0% (9-29) from three-point range. The Bulldogs also won the rebound battle 40-35. TLU had an advantage on offensive boards 13-4. Both teams had 14 assists, eight turnovers, and four steals in the game.

Every Dallas player that saw the court, scored for Dallas on the night. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

3 straight wins at the Maher Center! #ThatWinningFeeling#WeAreUD #SCACmbb #d3hoops #UDallas #UDMensBasketball pic.twitter.com/c7T17cLuDi

— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) February 15, 2020

UP NEXT

Dallas will host Southwestern University tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Senior Day recognitions will be held before the contest.