GAME PREVIEW: Dallas at Centenary College (2/6) | Colorado College (2/7)
(Photo Graphic Courtesy of Hannah Miller)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
(2/6 vs. Centenary College)
College TV Ticket (Video), Livestats
(2/7 vs. Colorado College)
College TV Ticket (Video), Livestats
OPENING TIP
The University of Dallas men's basketball team (12-7, 3-6 SCAC) hosts Centenary College of Louisiana (12-8, 8-2 SCAC) and Colorado College (11-10, 5-5 SCAC) on Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7, respectively. The pair of contests tip-off at 8 p.m. both nights following the women's basketball games.
With three weekends to go in the regular season, Dallas sits in a tie for sixth place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) standings. With the conference championship site at the Maher Athletic Center this year, UD holds an automatic bid with the top five schools also qualifying.
On Friday, the Crusaders have a chance to knock off the top team in the standings with Centenary ahead by half a game. Colorado College is .500 in 4th place and will be at Austin College on Friday before traveling to Irving, Texas the next night.
UD has gone 5-2 at home this season, and split its four conference affairs in the Maher Athletic Center this season, with both victories occurring on a Saturday.
RECENT ACTION
Last weekend, the Crusaders posted a 1-1 effort on the two-game road trip to Southwestern University (W, 73-68) and Texas Lutheran University (L, 80-74) to go 1-1 against the squads on the season-series.
Dallas avenged a 10-point setback at home the previous week by going to SU and outlasting its opponent in game that featured nine ties and 12 lead changes. Freshman Anthony Johnson (Texas City, Texas) shifted the final momentum where the Navy and White never trailed after about the midway portion of the stanza. Johnson netted all 10 of his points during this four-minute span where the Pirates were unable to find the bottom of the net.
A quartet of players notched double figures for Dallas led by senior Mark Promberger (Phoenix, Ariz.) with 14 points. It's the third time this year the forward has matched his second-highest point total for the season. Not far behind were sophomore Lorenzo Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas) and senior Aaron Wyatt (Frisco, Texas) with 13 and 12, respectively. Johnson's 10 mentioned above rounded out the unit.
On Saturday, UD could not overcome a nine-minute span without a field goal in the first half, and a 47-36 scoring stretch in the latter frame was not enough to nip the deficit versus the Bulldogs.
Joining the trio of double figure scorers were sophomore Tom Kaiser (Nashville, Tenn.) and senior Mark Promberger (Phoenix, Ariz.) with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The duo amassed the top two spots in team-rebounding for the contest with nine and seven.
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wyatt regained the top spot on the team as the leading-scorer and enters the weekend averaging 12 points-per-game (ppg). The senior forward has tossed 12.1 against league opponents. Another category Wyatt has grasped all year is rebounding with 121 and 6.4 per contest. His average boards per game rank the Frisco, Texas, native in fourth in the SCAC.
Sophomore Michael Sarrat (Colleyville, Texas) helps form a double-digit scoring duo for the Navy and White on the season with his 11.8 ppg. He has connected on the most three-pointers for the squad with 40.
Malone continues to pick up his shooting performance within conference action, etching 10.1 ppg against those foes. In three of the last four contests, Malone has cracked the double figure scoring mark. Five of eight such performances have been accomplished against the SCAC opposition. The senior point guard also is averaging 10.1 ppg at the Maher Athletic Center.
A more notable feat for the Richardson, Texas, native is his spot atop the league rankings in assists. Malone for the second week in a row is in that position with 74 total. He has garnered an average of 6.0 in the friendly confines compared to 4.5 on the road.
Kaiser has been a valuable player coming off the bench for Dallas and providing 7.5 ppg. The forward is four boards away from eclipsing the 100 spot on the campaign.
SCOUTING THE GENTS
Centenary has won seven-straight, a league most, which includes a pair of wins last weekend at home against Trinity University, 77-64, and Schreiner University, 78-71. TU boasted a five-point edge at intermission on Friday's affair, but the Maroon and White tallied 52 points to rally in the second half. Centenary rolled a 38-26 advantage versus the Mountaineers, but would hold off a later surge from the road team to push its streak.
The Gents are led by a trio of players in double-digits for scoring points a contest this campaign. James Sapp paces the group with 316 points overall and holds the conference lead with 15.8 ppg. Kendall Demouchet sneaks into the top five with 281 and 14.1, and rounding out the group with a top ten finish for ninth is Travion Kirkendoll with a 13.9 clip.
These players mentioned above have been named to six of the SCAC Players-of-the-Week, and helped the Maroon and White produce a conference-leading 74.7 ppg. It should be a good matchup with Dallas bolstering a league-fewest 65.4 points allowed.
In Shreveport, La., the Gents claimed a 70-53 victory against UD in the Gold Dome a little under a month ago. Centenary utilized a 20-4 run to close the ending of game, and helped the Gents win consecutive contests for the first time in 2014-15 year. That string of victories has yet to be snapped. The scoreboard was knotted 33-all at the break.
Promberger paced the Crusaders with 14 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the campaign. Sarrat contributed 13 points and senior Blaine Blackburn (Midlothian, Texas) chipped in 10 to form the trio. Centenary was led by Demouchet with a game-high 22 points off the bench.
The Gents have won the last three meetings dating back to 2013.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Colorado College earned two triumphs last weekend with home games versus Schreiner (68-56) and Trinity (70-65). The Black and Gold have won five of the past seven affairs, and are 8-1 at Reid Arena. CC has struggled away from the friendly confines reflecting a 2-7 record.
Chris Lesnansky owns the most points with 317 on the Tigers' squad and in the entire conference. He is second behind Sapp, Friday's opponent for UD, are 15.1 ppg. Also eclipsing the double-digit mark on the season is Justin Berardino with 10.8, and bringing a 9.8 clip was Luke Winfield.
As a team, the scoring output has been nearly even, with the opposition containing three more points with 70 allowed and 69.8-percent averaged.
Dallas hopes to also salvage a season series split after a tough setback at Colorado College. Even with a 13-7 start, the Navy and White would watch the Tigers cut the lead and flip things in favor for the home team.
Wyatt was paced the offense with 17 points and nine rebounds. Kaiser chipped in 11 points and Sarrat wrapped up the group 10.
Lesnansky mustered a game-high 21 points, and provided a game-high 10-of-11 effort from the charity stripe. Eric Houska added 11 points off the bench
Dating back to the 2009-10 campaign, UD has gone 3-9 against the Tigers, prevailing twice in those victories at home.
UP NEXT
Dallas will be on its final road trip of the 2014-15 season on Feb. 13-14 at Schreiner and Trinity. The tip-off times are at 6 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
SOCIAL MEDIA
UD Twitter: @UDallasSports
Men's Basketball Twitter: @UDallasMBB
Facebook: University of Dallas Athletics