Men's Basketball unable to Slow Centenary on Saturday
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team (6-8, 1-4 SCAC) fell 87-78 on Saturday evening versus Centenary College (10-6, 3-3 SCAC). Dallas was unable to halt a strong first half offensive performance by the Gents, and would trail 51-26 at intermission. The Crusaders have dropped the past four conference games, and back-to-back home contests for the first time since 2012-13.
Centenary would shoot 62.5 percent at halftime and 66.7 percent downtown to pour the most points the Crusaders allowed an opponent to obtain in the opening stanza this year. Freshman Darius Colvin (Waco, Texas), who made his first start of his career, drained a trey in UD's second possession to put his team up 3-2 during the first minute of action.
That would be the lone advantage on the scoreboard for Dallas, as Centenary's Justin Cueto answered with a three and Kendall Demouchet added a jumper to push the opposition up 7-3. Junior Lorenzo Gonzalez nipped the margin to one on a trifecta, but the Gents pushed their first double-digit lead with 13:57 remaining in the first on a three-pointer by Demouchet. The Maroon and White hit eight three-point field goals in the frame, and knocked four of the first five down at this juncture.
Sophomore Emmanuel Calton (Keller, Texas) would sink a trey for the Crusaders to cut the margin to 10 (24-14) with 11:56, but Centenary quickly posted seven-straight points to open its largest lead at the time, 31-14. Travion Kirkendoll nailed the three-point shot to force UD's second timeout in five minutes. The momentum remained with the Gents, as the Navy and White trailed by as many as 27 with 1:05 until intermission.
The Crusaders rallied for a 52-36 second half on the board, but it was too much of a deficit for them. A 24 of 34 points in the remaining 6:06 minutes of the contest were chimed in by the home team. The final six points of the game – along with eight of last 10 - were by freshman TJ Cooks (Jenks, Okla.).
A 16-4 run beginning on a triple from freshman Ronnie Horner (Forney, Texas) with 5:38 on the clock pulled Dallas within its closest margin since the first half by 11. The streak was capped by Gonzalez completing a fastbreak off a steal by Cooks, who had previously finished a layup. The hustle plays ended six points in a row for UD and closed the gap to 83-72 with 1:43 left.
Centenary regained composure and secured its second win in as many days.
INSIDE THE BOX
- Gonzalez hit a season-high 70 percent (7-of-10) from the field and led Dallas with 18 points. The point guard also added six assists for the fifth time this year. Cooks chimed in with a career-high 15 points, with all being etched in the second half.
- Junior Tom Kaiser (Nashville, Tenn.) rounded out three double-digit scorers 10 points. The forward notched his fourth double-double of the season with a team-leading 11 rebounds. Senior Sean Bambace (San Antonio, Texas) went 3-for-5 beyond the arc and chipped in nine points from the bench.
- The Crusaders shot 42.2 percent overall and 45.8 percent from downtown. The team was outrebounded 44-32 and included 14 surrendered offensive boards. Those extra opportunities led to 23 second chance points for the Gents. UD forced nine turnovers compared to making six miscues. Assists were even at 18 apiece.
- Centenary shot 47.1 percent from the floor in the game and 50 percent from long range. All five starters eclipsed double-digits in points led by Kirkendoll with 18. Demouchet followed right behind with 17 and rejected four of the team's six blocks.
- Rounding out the unit were Treylan Matthews, James Sapp, and Cueto with 13, 12, and 11, respectively. Sapp displayed a double-double with a game-high 16 rebounds to go with his point total. Sapp achieved the feat in the first half with 10 points and 12 boards.
UP NEXT
Dallas concludes a season-long, five-game homestand next weekend with a pair of conference contests. On January 22, the team welcomes Trinity University for a 6 p.m. tip. The next day, UD plays Schreiner University at 4 p.m.