Men's Basketball notches first SCAC victory; Crusaders handle Hendrix College (AR), 64-56, behind game-high 16-points from Stephens

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas men's basketball team (3-10, 1-3 SCAC) notched their first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) victory of the season, with a 64-56 defeat of Hendrix College (Ark.) on Friday evening at the Maher Athletic Center.

Dallas roared out to a 14 point, 18-4 advantage at the 13:20-mark of the first-half, when 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Joe Stephens (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound H.S.) nailed a jumper.

Stephens finished the half with a high-point total of 11 points, before totaling a game-high 16-points for the Crusaders. His final stat-line included a 6-of-14 night from the field, including netting 2-of-6 from 3-point range. Going 2-of-4 from the free-throw line, Stephens also recorded seven rebounds (three offensive), an assist and a steal in 30-minutes of play.

Dallas took a six point, 31-25 lead into halftime. The Crusaders shot 39.4-percent (13-of-33) in the first half, while holding the Warriors to 37-percent (10-of-27) from the field.

Hendrix (3-9, 2-2 SCAC) was able to overtake Dallas at the 12:24-mark of the second half. The Warriors maintained a single-digit lead over the Crusaders until Aaron Wyatt (Frisco, Texas/Prestonwood Christian Academy) seized the scoreboard back in the favor of Dallas. The 6-foot-5 freshman forward netted a layup with 3:17 to-go in regulation, putting Dallas up by one point, 55-54.

Wyatt registered nine of his 13-points in the second half. On the game, he went 6-of-12 from the field and 1-of-1 from the free-throw line. Wyatt also hauled in eight rebounds (three offensive), dished out two assists and had a block in 19-minutes of play.

The Warriors' Ammon Martin responded with a layup on the other end, but in the final 2:07, Dallas outscored Hendrix, 8-0, en route to a 64-56 triumph and the program's first SCAC win.

The Crusaders were clutch from the free-throw line in the final 25 seconds, sinking 5-of-6 from the charity-stripe to salt the game away.

Drew Assinesi (Pasadena, Calif./La Salle H.S.) was the third Crusader to enter double-figure scoring, as the 5-foot-9 junior guard tallied 11-points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field, while making 3-of-4 free-throw attempts. Assinesi also posted five rebounds, five assists and two steals in 35-minutes on the hardwood.

In the final period, Dallas shot 41.9-percent (13-of-31), while limiting the Warriors to 36-percent (9-of-25) from the field.

Next opponent: 

Dallas will take to the hardwood on Sunday, Jan. 8, in a 3 p.m. game versus SCAC foe Colorado College (Colo.) 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).