Buzzer-beater 3-pointer from Stephens lifts Men's Basketball past Sewanee (TN), 64-61; Dallas registers SCAC win No. 3 after shooting 50 percent

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas men's basketball team (5-14, 3-7 SCAC) toppled Sewanee: University of the South (Tenn.), 64-61, on Friday evening at the Maher Athletic Center, behind a team-high 14-points from Joe Stephens, including a deep 3-pointer with time expiring to erupt the Crusader faithful. 

Tied 61-61 after a missed jumper by Sewanee's (10-7, 5-5 SCAC) Tyler Brown at the 1:02 mark of the second half, the Crusaders were in a position to win the contest. 

5-foot-9 junior guard Drew Assinesi (Pasadena, Calif./La Salle H.S.) advanced the ball up near court before a timeout was called by head coach Jarred Samples with 18-seconds remaining. 

With Dallas securing the ball after a near turnover, yet another timeout was called by the Crusaders, this time with three-seconds to go in regulation. 

Out of the timeout, 5-foot-10 freshman guard Kym Malone (Richardson, Texas/Richardson Berkner H.S.) inbounded the ball from far sideline to the 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Stephens (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound H.S.), who faked the hand-off pass back to Malone before proceeding to dribble twice and hoisting a leaning 3-pointer from beyond NBA range. 

The rest was history, as Stephens sank the trifecta which ignited a frenzy of Crusader players and fans swarming their hero. 

Stephens' team-high 14-points came on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-4 night from 3-point range, while sinking his only free-throw attempt. Stephens also totalled seven rebounds (one offensive) and two assists in 32-minutes of work. 

With a 35-32 lead into halftime, Dallas finished the night with 50-percent (24-of-48) shooting from the field, while Sewanee countered with a clip of 42.6-percent (23-of-54). 

In a game seeing seven different lead changes, Dallas had a game-high 11 point, 51-40 lead at 12:06 of the second half. Sewanee, however, made a game of it with an ensuing 7-0 run. 

Though Sewanee forced Dallas into 15 turnovers to their 10, the Crusaders capitalized on the Tigers' mistakes, leading the points-off-turnovers statistic, 17-11. 

Dallas led the bench-points category (26-16), while Sewanee won second-chance points (14-5) and points-in-the-paint (32-28). 

Along with Stephens, two other Crusaders entered double-figure scoring -- 6-foot-5 junior guard Tanner Bruffey (Lubbock, Texas/Home School) and 6-foot-6 freshman forward Alex Winebarger (Greenville, S.C./St. Joseph's Catholic School). 

Bruffey amassed 10-points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field and a 4-of-5 effort from the free-throw line, to go with four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 32-minutes of play. 

Winebarger tabulated 12-points on a perfect 5-of-5 night from the field, while netting both attempts from the charity-stripe in 15-minutes on the court. 

Next opponent: 

Dallas will take to the hardwood on Sunday, Jan. 29, in a 3 p.m. contest versus SCAC foe Centre College (Kent.) 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).