Men's Basketball out-dueled by University of St. Thomas

IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team (2-19) fell on Saturday afternoon at the Maher Athletic Center to the University of St. Thomas Celts, 67-47.

The first half of play saw both teams shoot in the 40 percent range from the field – Dallas shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22), while St. Thomas fared slightly better, shooting 42.3 percent (11-of-26). Resulting was a four point deficit heading into halftime for the Crusaders.  

Freshman forward Braeton Hightower (Sperry, Okla./Owasso H.S.) led all scorers at the break, netting nine points on 3-of-5 made three-pointers in the opening period, including one that would've been good from NBA range.   

In the final period, things gradually got worse for the Crusaders. Hightower fouled out with 5:31 remaining in the contest. At this point, the Celts had grown their lead to 18 points much to the chagrin of the Dallas faithful.   

When the buzzer sounded, signifying the end of the game, 20 points separated the teams on the scoreboard in favor of St. Thomas. In the second half, Dallas was held to 35 percent (7-of-20) shooting, while St. Thomas shot 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from the field. 

The Crusaders' struggles in the rebounding department seemingly hurt their chances of getting a 'W.' For the game, St. Thomas held a 36-23 advantage on the boards.  

Dallas had a pair of Californians reach double figures in scoring. Freshman forward Ross Davidson (San Juan Capistrano, Calif./JSerra Catholic H.S.) finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including sinking 3-of-5 from the free throw line. Despite a 3-of-9 day from the field, senior guard/forward Noah Pettit (Fairfax, Calif./Sir Francis Drake) poured in 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, on his way to a 12 point outing.  

Up next for the Crusaders will be a tilt versus Southwestern Adventist University on Tuesday, Feb. 15. at the Maher Athletic Center. Tip off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.