Crusaders Stumble at Hendrix College on Saturday
CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Dallas men's basketball team fell to Hendrix College in a rematch game by a score of 77-54. Hendrix College (5-4) used an 18-0 run in the first half and hot shooting to get past the Crusaders. Dallas (4-2) gained some momentum midway through the second half as Isaiah Hayes (Arlington, Texas) hit some key shots, but Hendrix exploded for 45 points in the second half of play and had a 28-56 (50%) effort from the field and 12 made three-pointers in the game to pull away. Four Warriors finished with double-digit points to take the non-conference victory.
After several missed opportunities for both sides, Hendrix was able to find to momentum with an early 4-0 lead. Letrell Toussaint put the Crusaders on the board with a tough layup after a nice feed from Joshua Nunn (St. Louis, Mo.). Later John Russell (Bossier City, La.) made a bucket with his jump hook and Dustin Mathis (Fort Worth, Texas) added a layup to go on a 7-0 run and grab a 7-4 advantage. The Crusaders secured a 9-6 lead, but an 18-0 HC run for Hendrix switched the momentum to the Warriors bench (24-9) after Sean Coman hit two three-pointers on that run.
Michael Wambsganss (Denver, Colo.) broke the streak with a big three-pointer. Wambsganss a series later got a steal and layup to pull Dallas within 15 points at the under four timeout. Hayes hit a close jumper to help out UD (32-20), but Dallas missed its last three jumpers to end the half. That same score would hold up at the break. Wabsganss led Dallas with eight points at halftime shooting 2-2 from behind the arc, while Toussaint had seven rebounds for UD. Coman and Alex Conrad led Hendrix at the half with eight and seven points, respectively.
Wambsganss' three-pointer and a layup from Hayes helped create a spark for Dallas in the second half (43-26) Hayes and Hyde hit three-pointers to try and put together a run (45-32). HC then found its own 8-0 run capped off by a Seth Stanley jumper. Hayes notched five of the team's 11 points as they held the Warriors scoreless on this big run. Dallas would cut the lead to 55-43, but that would be as close as the Crusaders could get. The final seven minutes was all Warriors as they held went on to grab the home court victory.
Wambsganss paced Dallas with 12 points, while Hayes had a career-best 10 points. Hyde added eight points. Toussaint had a career-best 11 rebounds equaling Conrad from Hendrix for a game-high. UD shot 21-60 (35%) from the field and 9-26 (34.6%) from three-point range. UD did win the rebound battle 42-35
Stanley had a game-best 22 points shooting 4-5 from behind the arc. Coman added 13, as Conrad finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. HC forced 19 turnovers in the game and converted 21 points off of these UD mishaps. HC also had 28 points off its bench to find the victory. HC shot 50% exactly from the field, three-point range, and the charity stripe on the afternoon.
UP NEXT
Dallas will take a 13-day break before hosting University of St. Thomas (TX) on Friday December 20th at 5:30 p.m. to open Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) play. The following day UD will host Centenary College at 2:00 p.m.