GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Southwestern University Pirates men's basketball team struggled offensively in the second half, losing 72-55 to the University of St. Thomas Celts.
Southwestern opened the game with a 10-3 lead off a moving, drive-and-kick offense punctuated by first year guard Preston Hannah's quick trigger jumper, scoring seven points and assisting on a Kyle Howard 3-pointer in the first three minutes of action.
The Pirates closed the gap on many of its pitfalls from their first game against the Celts but couldn't manage a sustained effort against a bigger, faster team. St. Thomas controlled the glass with burly center Nathan Thormaehlen collecting 10, including four on the offensive end.
Comfortable they could secure rebounds with its only its frontline, the Celts leaked out, pushing for secondary break opportunities.
The Celts also inverted their offense, spacing the floor with Thormaehlen, running pick and pop opportunities for a pair of 3-pointers and then turning that into quick high-low passes for a pair of assists. The tactic opened the lane for Kennard Robinson, who punctured the Pirates' defense off the bounce for 23 points on 7-for-15 shooting, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and seven free throws.
Hannah and Kyle Poerschke kept Southwestern in early, combining for 15 points and two assists on 12 shots in the first half to stay within 38-31 at the break.
Brandon Alexander shook off some first-half struggles to score eight of his team-high 10 points in the second half, shooting 4-for-6 from the free-throw line.
The Pirates simply struggled to create quality looks, shooting just 19-for-61 for the game (31.1 percent), including 6-for-29 from beyond the 3-point line. St. Thomas shot 27-for-65 (41.5 percent), outscoring Southwestern 32-12 in the paint and 14-9 in second-chance points.
With the loss, the Pirates drop to 9-12 on the season and 5-9 in conference play. Southwestern will hit the road next week, playing at Austin College on Friday, Feb. 14 at 6:00 p.m. and Dallas on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4:00 p.m.
