A tale of two halves; CalTech (CA) spurns Men's Basketball, 69-53, as Beavers net 52 second-half points to conclude Thanksgiving Classic

LOS ANGELES - The University of Dallas men's basketball team (1-5) wrapped-up play in the CalTech/Occidental Thanksgiving Classic on Sunday afternoon, with a 69-53 defeat to the Calif. Institute of Technology (CalTech). 

It was a tale of two halves for Dallas, as the Crusaders went into halftime leading CalTech, 22-17, but were outscored, 52-31, in the second-half by the Beavers (2-2).

Neither team fared particularly well from the field in the first half, with Dallas shooting 28-percent (7-of-25), and CalTech 17.9-percent (5-of-28).

5-foot-9 sophomore guard Braeton Hightower (Owasso, Okla./Owasso H.S.) finished the initital-period with five points, which at the time tied him for the game high. Hightower's final stat-line included an eight-point effort, on 3-of-7 shooting from the field, including netting 2-of-5 from distance. He also had a steal in 22-minutes of work.

After some back-and-forth to open the second half, CalTech grabbed the lead for good at the 8:44-mark in a game seeing three different lead changes. 

When CalTech seized the lead for the final time, they outscored Dallas, 30-12, down the stretch.

The onslaught of 52 second-half points for CalTech resulted from their tenacity in the rebounding department, where the Beavers held a 21-10 advantage. For the game, CalTech finished with 41 rebounds, as opposed to Dallas' 35.

CalTech shot 56.7-percent (17-of-30) in the second half, while Dallas netted 36.8-percent (7-of-19) from the field.

With seven different scorers for Dallas, 6-foot-5 freshman forward Aaron Wyatt (Frisco, Texas/Prestonwood Christian Academy) had high-point honors for the Crusaders, amassing 11-points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field, and a 5-of-8 day from the free-throw line. Wyatt was one-rebound shy of a double-double, totaling nine-rebounds (one offensive) in 21-minutes of play. He also tallied three assists.

CalTech's Michael Edwards totaled a game-high 21-points in 28-minutes, while two other Beavers finished in double-figures as well.

Next opponent:

Dallas will host Austin College on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. in the Maher Athletic Center to open SCAC-play.