Winning Streak Snapped at Schreiner for Men's Basketball
KERRVILLE, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team (10-9, 4-5 SCAC) fell 73-70 at Schreiner University (8-12, 2-7 SCAC) on Saturday. The setback ended UD's four-game winning streak, which had matched a season-long.
After Dallas prevailed by 16 at the Maher Center a week ago, the teams shot more evenly with UD holding a slight edge - 40.8 percent to 40.6 percent – and could not overcome a three-point halftime deficit.
In the first stanza, the Crusaders worked to keep pace with the home squad. Each side enjoyed a narrow lead through the first eight minutes before Schreiner pushed its greatest advantage at the time to 16-10. After junior Tom Kaiser (Nashville, Tenn.) shrunk the gap to a pair (18-16), the Mountaineers extended the lead to their largest of the contest by seven (23-16) with 7:15 minutes until the break.
Dallas would nip the margin to as few as two points on one occasion, but would be unable to get over the hump heading into halftime. Kaiser did drain two free throws to finalize the scoring in the half and move UD within a 30-27 deficit.
Jumping into the next half, Kaiser produced a jumper and pair of free throws to round out a 7-0 run for the Crusaders in the first two and a half minutes of the second half. Sandwiched in Kaiser's points was a trifecta by junior Lorenzo Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas). The point guard dialed in three field goals from behind the arc.
Schreiner's Josh Bashford nailed a trey for the team's first points of the second with nearly three minutes ticked off the clock. That pulled the Maroon and White within one. After a few exchanges of baskets, junior Michael Sarrat (Colleyville, Texas) would tally five in a row for UD on back-to-back possessions resulting in field goals. The latter was his lone three-pointer of the day. That spurt by Sarrat lifted the Crusaders to their highest mark of the game by five (45-40).
The Mountaineers made eight straight points to counter the momentum and reclaim a 51-47 edge with 10:24 to go in regulation. There were a couple more small pushes on both sides, but Schreiner nabbed timely three-pointers from Thompson and Quentin Lenard to keep the home side up by seven on each respective one.
There was one last run by the Navy and White, as senior Sean Bambace (San Antonio, Texas) netted a trey to make it a one possession contest with 11 seconds. SU's Blake Kelley split at the free throw line, but the Crusaders had to settle for two of their own at the stripe. Sarrat did rattle both in to reflect a 71-69 difference and under 10 ticks.
Kelley rang both free throws this time and the Mountaineers fouled Gonzalez with a four point edge. With a second left in the ballgame, Gonzalez put the first shot at the line in and bricked the second intentionally. The strategy nearly worked as Sarrat garenered an offensive rebound but a desperation triple missed the mark that would have forced overtime.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Kaiser notched his seventh double-double of the campaign with 18 points and 11 boards. A trio of Crusaders surpassed double figures with at least 15 points. After Kaiser were Sarrat and Gonzalez with 16 and 15, respectively.
- Dallas would be outrebounded 41-33, as the Mountaineers tallied a 17-8 edge in second chance points off the strength of 16 offensive rebounds. The Crusaders did hold a slight edge in turnovers 16-13. Both teams committed 12 miscues.
- The road team would dish a season-low eight assists and shot 35.7 percent from three-point land and 78.1 percent in free throws.
- Schreiner was 8-for-22 in threes and 13-for-17 at the charity stripe. The Mountaineers were effective off the bench with a 59-7 advantage.
-Leading the individual effort was one of those reserves, Jared Thompson, with a game-high of 21 points. Lenard contributed 12 and Blake Kelley tossed in 11. All three double-digit scorers for SU were non-starters. Wes Miller had a team-high eight rebounds with four on both sides of the glass.
UP NEXT
Dallas concludes a long road swing with two SCAC contests next weekend. On February 5, the Crusaders head to Colorado College. Tip-off is 6 p.m. (MT). On Feb. 7 UD is at Centenary College for a 12 p.m. tilt.