Late Surge Propels Dallas Past Colorado College
IRVING, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team outlasted Colorado College 67-64 on Saturday. The Crusaders (11-8, 7-5 SCAC) were behind 61-57 with two minutes to play. Isaiah Hayes (Arlington, Texas) hit a big three-pointer to get Dallas within a point. This then led to a 10-0 UD run. UD scored seven-straight free throws and regained the lead and eventually took a 67-61 lead. Colorado College (5-14, 3-10 SCAC) missed five shots in the final two minutes. Aaron Acosta drained a half-court shot at the buzzer to make it a three-point difference, but UD completed the late comeback and was able to grab the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) victory.
Dallas once again came out hot as they raced out to a 10-2 lead. CC cut the lead to three points at the 13:43 mark. Matt Holloway (Melissa, Texas) and Chance Lockhart (Clarendon, Texas) hit a couple jump shots for the Crusaders to help Dallas expand its lead (15-7). The Tigers then had a 10-4 run to tie the game up at 17 with consecutive treys with nine minutes to play in the first half. CC would later take its first lead of the game after Deante' Dennis hit a long three. The Tigers would go up by three points, but Dustin Mathis (Fort Worth, Texas) nailed a three to tie up the game. Back and forth each team traded buckets, but UD grabbed two buckets down the stretch to give the Crusaders a 31-27 advantage at the halftime break.
UD kept it a four point lead for three minutes in the second half until CooXooEii Black and Acosta started to heat up from the field. CC tied the game up at 35 at the 16:48 mark. Mathis and Cameran Hyde (Missouri City, Texas) kept UD in it in the middle of the half with three-pointers. The Tigers found some rhythm after Black capped off a 9-0 CC stretch with a dunk with nine minutes to play (51-45). CC had a six point lead and most of the momentum with four minutes left. Letrell Toussaint (Waco, Texas) added a free throw and Jacob Giunta (Keller, Texas) nailed a three from the corner to pull Dallas within a bucket. After the Tigers sprinted down the court for a lay-in, Hayes drained a three-pointer to make it a one point game. Later, out of the Colorado College timeout, Toussaint blocked the Tigers layup attempt to keep Dallas in it and then the Tigers turned the ball over. Mathis would go on to get fouled and put Dallas back on top (62-61). CC kept firing shots, but missed all of the attempts in the final stretch, as UD converted its foul shots. Acosta hit a trey at the end, but UD would escape with a SCAC win in the Maher Center.
Mathis led Dallas once again scoring 20 points, shooting 6-10 from the field and 5-9 from behind the arc. Mathis also was 3-3 from the foul line. Hyde added 12 points for UD making four of his nine shots at the charity stripe. Giunta came down with a personal-best 13 rebounds, including five off the offensive glass and matched his career-high four assists. UD shot 43.1% (22-51) from the field and 39.1% (9-23) from three-point range. Dallas won the rebound margin 38-34 and matched its season-best with four team blocks.
Colorado College was led by Black who had 20 points and 11 rebounds making seven field goals on the day. Acosta finished with 16 points. CC scored 30 points in the paint and had 11 second chance points.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Down 1...Defensive Play before Mathis put the #UDCrusaders up the rest of the way!#WeAreUD #SCACmbb #d3hoops #UDallas #UDMensBasketball pic.twitter.com/JWPOIy42gI
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) February 2, 2020
UP NEXT
Dallas will look forward to a weekend road trip to South Texas. The Crusaders will play at Trinity University on Friday (Feb. 7) at 5:30 p.m. UD will then take on Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas the following day. First tip is set for 4:00 p.m.