Crusaders Fall 95-94 in Overtime Thriller against St. Thomas
HOUSTON, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team fell in overtime 95-94 to the University of St. Thomas (TX) on Friday evening. The Crusaders (12-12, 8-9 SCAC) shot 46% from the field, 44% from three-point range, and turned the ball over less than UST, but the Celts were able to convert 25 points off of those UD turnovers. St. Thomas (22-2, 15-2 SCAC) had seven blocks in the game and shot 48.5% from the field to take the close game in the end. Dallas never let the game get out of reach all game, but in the end could not find a way to take down the 2020 Southern Colligate Athletic Conference (SCAC) regular season champions.
St. Thomas got out to a 5-0 lead. UD then tied it up after Dustin Mathis (Fort Worth, Texas) and Isaiah Hayes (Arlington, Texas) hit back-to-back shots. Dallas then grabbed its first lead of the game as Letrell Toussaint (Waco, Texas) grabbed an offensive rebound and made his layup attempt to cap off a 7-0 UD run. Dallas went up 9-7 at one point but starting at the 14:23 mark St. Thomas went on an 8-0 roll. UD kept hitting shots on its end, but UST eventually pushed its lead to 10 (20-10) with 10 minutes in the first half. UST grabbed a 33-24 lead at the six-minute mark, but UD found some rhythm once again. Two buckets from John Russell (Bossier City, La.) and a three-pointer by Jai Love (St. Louis, Mo.) cut the Celts lead to just two points. It was a close game at the halftime break with UST taking a 43-38 advantage
Three minutes into the second half, UST took its largest lead (55-43). It was a scoring frenzy in which both teams kept up its hot shooting. Dallas then went on a 12-2 run to retake the lead and put the pressure on St. Thomas with a 66-65 lead. Dallas kept the pressure on later taking a 72-70 lead after Cameran Hyde (Missouri City, Texas) buried a three-pointer with eight and a half to play. Each team traded buckets and retook the lead several times. UD took a five-point lead after another Hyde trey at the 3:37 mark. Dallas kept this lead up until a minute to play. UST scratched and clawed its way to tie the game at 89 with 29 ticks left. Love made two free throws to give Dallas back the lead. With six seconds left, Joshua Sanchez made his layup to knot the game up once again. Love had an opportunity with two seconds left, but his layup came up short. UST had a half court heave that missed the mark which would send Dallas to its second overtime game this season.
No baskets were scored in the first 2:19 minutes of overtime as both teams combined to miss the first five shots in the extra period. Hyde made the back end of his foul shot opportunity to put Dallas out ahead 92-91. Two free throws for Sanchez gave UST back the lead. Russell made a key lay-in on the Dallas offensive side of the court after a nice assist from Mathis (94-93). With 1:38 left to play, Kennard Robinson made his jump shot after he came down with the defensive board on the other end, which put the Celts back on top. In the final 1:23, Dallas missed four shot opportunities, as the Celts defense held tough. UD had one last chance with just a couple seconds on the board, but the Celts forced a turnover and stole the inbounds pass to escape with the win.
Mathis paced the Crusaders with 19 points making seven field goals. Hyde finished with 19 points as he shot 7-9 from the field and knocked down four three-pointers in five tries. Love followed behind his teammates with 16 points, seven assists and a 5-6 effort at the charity stripe. Russell had a 15-point night with eight rebounds. Michael Wambsganss (Denver, Colo.) made it back into the lineup and came away with a team-leading 10 rebounds along with seven points. Dallas had 43 points from its bench. Garrett Young (Texarkana, Texas) played in his fourth collegiate game tonight.
Sanchez had a game-high 23 points shooting a perfect 10-10 from the field. Robinson added 22 points, six assists, and five rebounds. Two other Celts finished in double-figures. Christian Alaekwe led the Celts with nine rebounds. Cameron Gims came away with four steals. UST made 21 of its 27 shots at the free throw line but were limited to a 28.6% (8-28) mark from three-point range. UST scored 46 points in the paint, while UD had 38 in that same category. Both teams had 42 rebounds.
This game was delayed almost two hours due to a shattered backboard during warmups. The game was moved and played at Houston Baptist University.
SOCIAL MEDIA
So, @Letrell35 broke the backboard at St. Thomas in pregame warmups. Game is being relocated to Houston Baptist University. Still time for H-Town friends to make it out and support the University of Dallas! pic.twitter.com/tJ0DNZVQ8d
— Matt Grahn (@CoachMattGrahn) February 21, 2020
UP NEXT
Dallas will take on Centenary College tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. in the regular season finale. The Crusaders can clinch a spot to the SCAC Tournament with a victory, Trinity University victory, and/or Johnson & Wales University victory. Seeds 4-6 are all up for grabs among four teams with tournament host Schreiner University being the other not mentioned previously.