Crusaders Begin Conference Action by Defeating Unbeaten Austin College
IRVING, Texas – It was a wild start to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) play, as the University of Dallas men's basketball team prevailed over undefeated Austin College (10-1, 0-1 SCAC) by a final score of 106-104 on Saturday. It was the first time Dallas (5-4, 1-0 SCAC) broke triple-digits on the scoreboard since putting 107 against Arlington Baptist College at the Maher Center on February 19, 2015. The Crusaders also go above .500 this season for the first time and swept a 4-0 homestand.
Both teams came out shooting, as the home team led 44-40 at halftime, despite allowing the 'Roos to hit better at 56.3 percent (18-of-32) to 48.5 percent (16-of-33) in the frame. UD was able to connect on two extra trifectas (4-of-9) and were 80 percent (8-of-10) from the free throw line compared to 40 percent (2-of-5) at the line for the guests.
In a contest that featured eight ties and 11 lead changes, Austin College would nip the deficit immediately out of the break with a 6-0 run go ahead. A jumper by freshman Prince Giadolor (Rockwall, Texas) knotted the game back, 46-46, just over a minute and half into the stanza. Sophomore Emmanuel Calton (Keller, Texas) would complete a layup three possessions later to put Dallas back in front 48-46 with 17:29 minutes left. Two made treys by Junior Michael Sarrat (Colleyville, Texas) and freshman Darrius Colvin (Waco, Texas) helped ease the advantage for the Navy and White out to two possessions.
A stretch of 10-straight points lifted the Crusaders to their greatest edge of the time by 13, capped by Colvin's layup with 10:28 remaining and forcing an Austin College timeout. In the middle of the outburst, sophomore Austin DiCambio (Huntington Beach, Calif.) tossed a layup prior to Colvin's field goal to have UD break the double-digit margin (62-51). The forward would find the bottom of the net for one of two of his season-high, nine points, to extend UD's edge to its biggest of the game by 17 (78-61) with 6:40.
AC continued to battle at lowering the margin to single-digits, and did after a three-pointer by Alan Sullivan with 2:30 remaining to bring the scoreboard to 92-83. Out of a Dallas timeout, Sarrat sank both free throw attempts to move the lead to 11. The final 20 points of the game for the Crusaders were from the line. Junior Lorenzo Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas) connected on the last field goal, which was a trifecta at 4:21 remaining.
Dallas broke a school record with 37 made points at the charity stripe. The previous mark was 34 against Parker University on Feb. 22, 2005.
It was another pair of Sarrat free throws that would push UD at and beyond 100 points with 54 ticks left, and a 12-point advantage. Still, the 'Roos swung the momentum with a 7-1 run and forced a turnover with 31 seconds. On the next possession, AC's Jeremy Swisher would finish a jumper and draw a foul after getting his own miss twice to cut things to five (103-98) with 19 seconds. Swisher hit the old fashioned three-point play to nip things at 103-99.
After Gonzalez made one out of two from the line, Christian Chiles would nail a trey to make things a one possession game (104-102) with 10 seconds on the clock. UD's Gonzalez would hit both free throws the next time, after a foul. A three-point heave by Swisher was off the mark, before Patrick Johnson hit a last second layup to round out a half that had a combined 126 points. It was a two hour and ten minute game overall.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Gonzalez led the team for the second-straight game with 19 points, and was one shy from matching a career-best he achieved last Tuesday. The point guard grabbed a team and season-high nine rebounds, and dished six assists for the third game out of last four.
- A quartet of players reach double figures in scoring for the Crusaders. Behind Gonzalez was Sarrat with 16, Calton with a personal best 13, and freshman TJ Cooks (Jenks, Okla.) with 11. Cooks put seven up in the first half. Colvin added nine and handed out three assists. Junior Victor Garate (Austin, Texas) was the third Crusader with nine as he went three-of-four behind the arc. The bench for UD outscored its opponent 52-33.
- Dallas shot its second highest percentage from the field this year at 50 percent (30-of-60). Made season-bests in three-points (9-of-16), and free throws (37-of-55). Won the battle on the boards, 39-35, and turned the ball over 14 times compared to 12 by AC. Both squads had 12 offensive rebounds apiece, and combined for 61 fouls altogether.
- The 'Roos managed to be whistled for 36 personal fouls. The visitors did shoot 51.9 percent (40-of-77) from the floor, 38.9 percent (7-of-18) downtown, and 60.7 percent from the line (17-of-28). AC did collect 48 points in the paint. They also picked up nine steals and six blocks.
- Leading the offense for the Maroon and Gold was Stephen Igbinosa with 20 points. Following right behind included: Sullivan (19), Hudson (17), and Swisher (16).
- This is only the second time, according to records dating back to 1991-92, that UD and its opponent broke 100 points in the same contest. The previous date was on November 8, 1993 against Texas Wesleyan University (L, 104-101). It is the fourth time Dallas has posted triple-digits on the board against the 'Roos and are 4-0 in those circumstances (According to records dating back to 1984).
WORD FROM COACH SAMPLES
"I thought our guys battled early today. We had some players get into foul trouble early on, but our bench did an outstanding job of stepping up. We got contributions from TJ, Vic, Darrius, Rory, Ronnie, and Austin. Zo and Mike played great overall again for us. It's good to get off to a good start in SCAC play. Now we have to be able to compete on the road next week in two more tough ones." –Head Coach Jarred Samples
UP NEXT
Dallas will be on the road for the first time in over a month with conference games at Texas Lutheran University and Southwestern University on January 8 and 9, respectively.