Men's Basketball Battles #12 Trinity in Tough Loss

January 27, 2024

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas men's basketball team lost their conference game against #12 Trinity University 97-66 on Saturday, falling to 8-12 overall on the year and 5-7 in conference play.

Stranger things have happened than the Crusaders taking down a ranked opponent, as they've defeated previously #19 ranked St. Thomas twice this season, knocking them out of the most recent national rankings.  Tonight's final score against Trinity is not at all indicative of how well the Crusaders matched up with the Tigers throughout the game.  

Dallas hung tight with the Tigers for much of the first half, even holding a lead past the first media timeout.  The Crusaders went 7-of-10 from the field in the first six minutes and clung to a three-point lead as Trinity went 6-of-10 from the field in the same span.  Though from there it was a slow, steady climb as the Tigers gradually built up a double-digit cushion over the next seven minutes, Dallas kept themselves within striking distance.

Despite going into halftime down by 12, the Crusaders never felt like they were out of the game as they had worked hard to create high quality scoring chances and protected the ball well, turning the ball over just twice in the first half.

Not much changed in the second half for Dallas.  Even down by 20 with five minutes to play, the Crusaders were never shut down and kept making opportunities for themselves.  They just struggled to capitalize on those opportunities in what simply ended up being an off night of shooting.  

The Crusaders averaged 42% FG shooting, 31% 3PT shooting, and 77.2 PPG going into tonight's game, and finished the night shooting 36.4% overall and 23.1% from three.  Their 60% performance from the line was also below their season average of 66%.

Jack Boyle led the Crusaders with 19 points and seven rebounds, going 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from the line.  Jamal Leftwich and Kelton Coleman each tallied 14 points on the night.

Up Next

The Crusaders will host Southwestern University on Friday, Feb. 2 at 5:30 pm.