Posted: Mar 05, 2021
HOUSTON, Texas -- Second-seeded University of St. Thomas held off a feisty seventh-seeded University of Dallas squad and eventually pulled away for an 84-76 victory in Friday quarterfinal action of the 2021 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Jerabeck Activity and Athletic Center. Official Tournament Website
Freddie Ricks came off the bench to pour in 18 points and Christian Alaekwe had a game-high 19 to go with six rebounds in leading the Celts to next weekend's semifinal round.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Dallas shot a blistering 58.6 percent (17-29) from the field in the first half, but only held a 40-38 lead.
- Dallas held a significant advantage over St. Thomas in field goal percentage for the game (50.0 percent to 39.7 percent) but the Crusaders committed 23 turnovers that the Celts turned into 19 points. Conversely, Dallas only forced 12 UST turnovers.
- St. Thomas led Dallas in both second chance points (15-10) and fast break points (15-10).
- Bench scoring was almost identcal with Dallas holding a 22-21 margin.
ST. THOMAS STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Christian Alaekwe: 19 points, six rebounds
- Freddie Ricks: 18 points
- Adam Kanafani: 14 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks
- Juan Hood: 13 points, six assists
DALLAS STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
- Jack Boyle: 17 points, eight rebounds
- Marcus Juarez: 15 points, five rebounds
- Cameran Hyde: 13 points, six rebounds, two steals
- Jai Love: 12 points, six assists, four rebounds
NOTABLE
- This was St. Thomas' first-ever SCAC men's basketball tournament appearance.
- Since joining the SCAC prior to the 2019-20 season, UST is now 5-0 against Dallas, including a pair of regular season wins this year (Feb. 22 and 23) on Dallas' home floor.
- This was Dallas' first SCAC tournament game since losing in double-overtime (99-95) to Texas Lutheran in the 2019 championship game.
- Dallas ends its season with a 4-7 record.
UP NEXT
St. Thomas (9-4) advances to take on Centenary College (8-3) next weekend in a game that will be played at UST. The two split their regular season contests this season on the final weekend of the season at Centenary - with both games coming down to the wire. St. Thomas won the opener, 66-63, and Centenary bounced back the following day to take the 71-69 victory. Next weekend's game date and time will be announced by Monday.
St. Thomas (9-4) advances to take on Centenary College (8-3) next weekend in a game that will be played at UST. The two split their regular season contests this season on the final weekend of the season at Centenary - with both games coming down to the wire. St. Thomas won the opener, 66-63, and Centenary bounced back the following day to take the 71-69 victory. Next weekend's game date and time will be announced by Monday.
