Christifano Jr. Sparks Second Half Surge as Crusaders Narrowly Beaten by Arlington Baptist
IRVING, Texas. - The University of Dallas men's basketball team lost their non-conference matchup with Arlington Baptist 85-82 this evening. They fall to 2-4 on the year with one more game to play before the start of conference play.
For the second game in a row, the Crusaders got off to a painfully slow start. The Patriots were up 12-1 not even three minutes in and were up 22-9 when the Crusaders made their first field goal of the game nine minutes into the half. Dallas started to string some points together on offense after that, scoring 21 points in a little over 10 minutes, but had very few answers on the defensive side of the ball. The Patriots led by as many as 22 at one point, despite the turnaround on offense for Dallas, and would go into halftime with a seemingly comfortable 51-30 lead as a beleagured Crusaders team shuffled painfully into the locker room with yet another mountain to climb.
The tone of the game shifted on a dime in the second half as the Crusaders came out with fire and fervor. There was little in the way of defense in the opening minutes of the half as the teams traded blows, but the Crusaders were already cutting into the deficit with 12 points in the first four minutes. Louis Christifano Jr. spearheaded the comeback early on, going 3-4 from beyond the arc in the first six minutes of the half. He was forced to the bench for much of the second half, however, sitting on four fouls. It was a slow and steady grind, but on the back of red-hot three-point shooting and stifling defense, fought their way all the way to within three points in the final seconds. They forced a turnover and had two chances to tie the game, but couldn't make either one as the Patriots let out a sigh of relief and saw out the win.
The second half turnaround on offense was big, but arguably more important was the work off the ball. The Crusaders had six blocks and 31 rebounds in the second half alone, compared to the Patriots two blocks and 14 rebounds. Dallas' three-pooint shooting was crucial, as they went 9-15 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Christifano Jr. led the team in scoring with 18 points thanks to his monster second half, dropping 15 points while going 5-5 from three in just nine minutes on the court in the second half. Jai Love clutched up as well, dishing out eight of his team leading 10 assists in the second half. Letrell Toussaint recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 16 rebounds, Cameran Hyde was second on the team with 17 points, and Jack Boyle provided crucial support off the bench with his second double-double of the season, recording 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Up Next
The Crusaders are back in action tomorrow, facing Division I heavyweights Abilene Christian on the road. The game is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.