Mathis Feasts in Crusaders Triumph Over Whittier College
WHITTIER, Calif. – The University of Dallas men's basketball team defeated Whittier College (CA) 85-71 on the first day of the Chapman/Whittier Classic. The Crusaders (4-0) were led by a career night from Dustin Mathis (Fort Worth, Texas). UD jumped out to an early 19-0 lead. Whittier College (2-3) cut into the large deficit and made it a six-point game with just three minutes left in the first half, as UD would eventually take a seven-point lead into halftime. The Poets got within three points in the second half, but Dallas found some hot shooting stretches to grab the double-digit victory. Mathis had a personal-best 25 points, shooting 6-13 from the floor, knocked down four three pointers, shot 9-10 at the charity stripe, and dished a team-high five assists.
Dallas came out red hot in its first game after Thanksgiving. UD jumped out to a 19-0 lead. In the next two minutes the Poets finally showed up on the scoreboard as they went on a 9-2 run. At the 6:42 mark the Poets found another big run. This time WC shutdown the Crusaders offense on its way to score 10 straight points to make it a three point game (29-26). Dallas would go on to expand its lead to 10 points, but the Poets did not quit fighting on their home court. Both teams traded buckets in the final few minutes, as UD would take a narrow seven-point lead into the locker room.
In the second half, WC would answer every Dallas field goal with a three-pointer to cut into the Dallas lead and made it a three-point game just three minutes into the period. That would be as close as the Poets would get. Mathis would go on to score 22 of his 25 points in the second period to stymie the Poets chances. Whittier was limited to a 6-21 (28.6%) effort from behind the arc in that half and were just hoping to get back to its previous hot shooting. The Crusaders would grow its lead and not let WC back in the game the rest of the way. Four UD starters reached double figures in the Crusaders victory.
Freshman Jacob Giunta (Keller, Texas) added a career-best 17 points and eight rebounds. John Russell (Bossier City, La.) notched his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Michael Wambsganss (Denver, Colo.) continued his hot start to 2019 with 14 points and seven boards in the winning effort.
Ahmad Young led the Poets with 15 points shooting 5-7 from the field. Five Whittier players reached double-digit points and the bench had 39 points
Dallas had 11 second chance points, holding WC to just one point in that same category and would go on to outrebound the Poets 40-33.
The Crusaders are off to its first 4-0 start to a season since the 2014-2015 campaign.
SOCIAL MEDIA
#UDCRUSADERS WIN! Defeat Whittier 85-71
— UDallas Athletics (@UDallasSports) November 30, 2019
Top Performances:
- Mathis (25 pts., 22 2nd half pts., 4 3FGM, 9-10 FT, 5 ast.)
- Giunta (17 pts., 8 reb.)
- Wambsganss (14 pts., 7 reb.)
- Russell (12 pts., 10 reb.)
- UD improves to 4-0#WeAreUD #d3hoops #UDallas pic.twitter.com/Mx5vAZzE7h
UP NEXT
Dallas will play Chapman University apart of the Chapman/Whittier Classic tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. (PST).