Crusaders Knocked Out in Quarterfinals by Colorado

February 23, 2024

SHREVEPORT, La. - The University of Dallas men's basketball team were knocked out of the SCAC Championship Tournament by Colorado College on Friday.  The No. 5 seeded Crusaders were defeated by the No. 4 seeded Tigers 87-58.

The Tigers led from start to finish, scoring the first bucket of the game 18 seconds in and never looking back.  Colorado opened the game with a 9-2 run, but Dallas quickly answered back to cut the lead to 9-8 forum minutes into the half.

From there, CC gradually built their lead. They hit a double-digit cushion at 21-11 midway through the period, and led by as many as 18 points in the first half.  The Tigers carried a 15-point lead into halftime, as Dallas shot just 33% from the field.

Colorado continued to push, leading by 23 points at the first media timeout in the second half.  The Crusaders battled to keep themselves in it, but couldn't cut the deficit to less than 20 points for most of the second half.  

Though the two sides were much more even from the floor in the second half (10-of-33 for Dallas, 12-of-24 for Colorado), the Tigers outshot Dallas 20-9 at the free throw line, making more free throws in the second half alone (15) than the Crusaders shot in the entire game (13).

Kelton Coleman led all players with 27 points, tying his career-best.  Johny Olmsted had six points with four rebounds, and Zac Olmsted had five points with four rebounds and two steals.

The Crusaders end the year with a 12-14 overall record and an 8-8 record in conference play.  This was the first time since the 2020-21 season the Crusaders had qualified for the SCAC Championship Tournament, and the first time they qualified in a full-length season since 2018-2019.

The SCAC All-Conference teams will be announced tomorrow following the second semi-final game.