Several Career-bests not enough to Lift Men's Basketball in Final Home Game
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team (10-13, 4-9 SCAC) dropped its final home game this year in a 78-70 final against Southwestern University (12-12, 9-4 SCAC). The Pirates claimed the season series with a win at both venues. Dallas has dropped five in a row.
It was a tight first half with both squads shifting the momentum throughout the 20 minutes to counter each scoring attack. Similar to the tip down at Georgetown, Texas, earlier this season, the Crusaders busted an early run with the first 11 unanswered.
After a layup by sophomore Austin DiCambio (Huntington Beach, Calif.) got UD on the board in the first possession, a trio of three-pointers were made on the home side including two in a row from senior Sean Bambace (San Antonio, Texas). Junior Michael Sarrat (Colleyville, Texas) capped the run with a trey of his won with 17:18 to go in the stanza.
The Pirates finally broke on the scoreboard with a jumper right at three minutes in from Chris Lee. Dallas added a bucket by junior Lorenzo Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas) before Southwestern tossed six straight points. Another Sarrat three and four points in a row from sophomore Rory MacCallum (Golden, Colo.) extended the advantage back into double-digits (22-8) with 12:16 left.
The road squad got hot from the floor suddenly in the next five minutes and nipped the deficit to take over a 26-25 lead – SU's first of the afternoon – on a trey from Chris Molina. During the 19-3 run overall, the Gold and Black dialed in a perfect 6-for-6 effort beyond the three-point arc. Southwestern only made nine total from downtown in the contest.
Southwestern pulled ahead 36-31 with just under four minutes until intermission, but Bambace drained a trifecta to make it a one possession game. The guard was scorching in the first half with a four-for-six effort, including all those marks occurring beyond the arc. Bambace's final trey of the frame would push the Crusaders up 40-38 with 50 seconds.
Out of halftime, the Pirates turned the tide their way with a 14-4 scoring swing in the first five minutes. A Gonzalez three-pointer cut the gap into single digits again. Midway in the second, Sarrat engineered a 16-6 run with a three-pointer and another a couple possessions later moved UD within one (60-59). Bambace's fifth triple once again catapulted Dallas in front and freshman Prince Giadolor (Rockwall, Texas) would chime in with his lone three-point attempt to cap the run.
Five straight points from Southwestern produced another lead change, including a Ryan Ogden three-pointer that was the go-ahead bucket with 4:28 minutes in regulation. UD's Giadolor split at the free throw line and Molina countered with a jump shot to create a 7-0 run that captured the road win for the Pirates.
MacCallum and Sarrat put in layups over the next minute to cut the margin in half (74-70), but four straight free throws ended the contest.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
-A trio of Crusaders combined for 51 points: led by Sarrat with 18, Bambace 17, and MacCallum 16. Sarrat tied a season-high four made three-pointers, as he and Bambace compiled nine of the team's 11 made treys. That matched a season-high earlier at home against Centenary College.
- Bambace shattered a career-high on his last day playing in the Maher Center, and included a 5-for-7 mark downtown. His five three-pointers were a personal best, and most since going 3-for-3 on December 7, 2013 versus Millsaps College.
- MacCallum logged his first career double-double with a personal best in scoring and rebounds (12). It is the third time the forward has broken double figures in boards. Giadolor dished a team-high five assists, tying a personal high. Senior Kyle Poe (Ventura, Calif.) and Gonzalez each added four.
- Dallas won the rebounding battle 40-27 but turned the ball over 16 times compared to six by the Pirates.
- The guests were led by Zach Whitlock with 19 points for a game-high. This included a seven-for-eight mark at the free throw stripe. Carson Severson and Molina tossed in 18 apiece and Connor Kim contributed 12. Molina had six dimes and Whitlock added four to combine for 10 of the team's 14 total.
UP NEXT
Dallas plays a non-conference game on Tuesday at Arlington Baptist College. Tip-off slated for 7 p.m.
