Men's Basketball Drops Close Game with Centenary

December 2, 2023

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas men's basketball team lost to Centenary College 91-87 on Saturday, slipping to 3-6 overall on the year and 1-1 in conference play.

Things couldn't have started much better for Dallas as they seemed to be riding the momentum from last night's win against St. Thomas.  The Crusaders were shooting at an otherworldly pace, shooting 68% from the field after 12 minutes to take a commanding 37-18 lead.  

Centenary were scrambling to find an answer, though they began to chip away at the deficit as Dallas couldn't keep shooting at such an unsustainable clip.  The Gents found their rhythm late in the first half, scoring 12 unanswered points to bring the lead down to six points at halftime.

The Crusaders finished the first half 17-of-31 from the field (54.8%) and 5-of-11 (45.5%) from beyond the arc.

Defense was thrown by the wayside in the second half as the game became a bona fide shootout.  Seven and half minutes in, the game was tied and both teams were shooting over 50% from the field.  In just about any other situation you would likely hold onto your lead if you were 7-of-13 (53.8%) to start the second half like Dallas, but the Gents were 8-of-12 (66.7%) and 2-of-2 from three in the span.

The game was tied three times over the next four minutes until Centenary took a 69-68 lead with 7:24 left on the clock for what would ultimately be the final lead change of the game.  The Crusaders were forced to play the foul game as the clock dwindled down, but the Gents were 9-of-10 from the line in the final two minutes.  Dallas was 8-of-10 from the line in the same span, but went 3-of-10 from the field in the final five and a half minutes, allowing Centenary to just barely hold on for the win.

Jack Boyle (pictured) led the team with 24 points and 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.  Marcus Juarez put up a season-high 20 points, going 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-9 from three.

Up Next

The Crusaders are on the road for the rest of the calendar year.  They will face Schreiner next on Friday, Dec. 15 at 5:30 pm.