Wyatt's 14-points leads Crusader charge, but Men's Basketball sustains 87-69 home defeat to Schreiner University

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas men's basketball team (2-10, 0-3 SCAC) was defeated 87-69 by Schreiner University at the Maher Athletic Center on Monday evening, after the Mountaineers exploded for a 48-point first half.

To the chagrin of the Crusaders, the game could not have started better for Schreiner (7-3). The Mountaineers held a 7-0 advantage 2:34 into the contest. Amid a pressure-heavy defensive attack, Schreiner forced Dallas into 12 first-half turnovers, and led the category 21-17 on the evening.

Dallas, however, quickly turned things around for the moment, with 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Joe Stephens (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound H.S.) accounting for five of the Crusaders' seven unanswered points to tie the game, 7-7, at the 15:53 mark.

His final stat-line included a 12-point effort, on 3-of-10 shooting from the field, going 1-of-3 from distance and draining 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. Stephens also totalled eight rebounds (three offensive) and a steal before fouling-out after 21-minutes of game action.

Stephens -- one of two Crusaders to enter double-figure scoring -- was second to 6-foot-5 freshman forward Aaron Wyatt (Frisco, Texas/Prestonwood Christian Academy) in terms of points.

Wyatt notched a team-high 14 points, after sinking 5-of-11 from the field, 1-of-2 from beyond the arc and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Additionally, Wyatt snatched five rebounds (one offensive), and registered an assist and three blocks in 24-minutes of play.

The tide then turned back in the favor of Schreiner, as the Mountaineers seized the lead for good at 14:35 of the first half. The Mountaineers claimed their first double-digit lead with 7:42 remaining in the half, thanks to a converted 3-pointer by A.J. Myres.

Myres proved to be Dallas' kryptonite in this game, as the sophomore guard tallied a game-high 25-points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field, a 3-of-5 night from 3-point range and going 6-of-9 from the charity stripe.

Schreiner led by a game-high 20-points with 5:06 to go in the first half, before taking a 13-point, 48-35, lead into halftime.

The first-half saw Schreiner shoot 50-percent (14-of-28) from the field, while Dallas mustered a mark of 38.7-percent (12-of-31).

Making halftime adjustments, the Crusaders opened second-half scoring with six unanswered points, narrowing their deficit to 48-42 just 1:46 into the final period.

Some stagnant offense midway through the second-half seemingly cost Dallas any chance of a comeback, despite the Crusaders netting 13-of-16 from the free-throw line in the half.

As time expired, Schreiner had their biggest lead of the half -- an 18-point advantage -- giving the Mountaineers an 87-69 victory. 

Schreiner shot 42.9-percent (12-of-28) in the second half, as opposed to Dallas' 36 percent (9-of-25).

Next opponent: 

Dallas returns to SCAC-play on Friday, Jan. 6, with an 8 p.m. affair versus Hendrix College (Ark.) at the Maher Athletic Center.

The game will be streamed live online via collegetvticket.com, and in-game updates will be provided on Facebook (UDallasAthletics) and Twitter (UDallasSports).