Trio of Crusaders Set New Career-Highs in Setback at Austin College
SHERMAN, Texas – The University of Dallas men's basketball team dropped its second game in four days to Austin College. This time around the 'Roos went up by 20 points in the first half, but the Crusaders came storming back again and cut the lead to single digits in the second half. Austin College (9-8, 6-4 SCAC) made seven of its 17 three-pointers in the first half but were limited to just a 1-7 effort in the second half. Dallas (9-8, 5-5 SCAC) could not buy a trey in the game but played a strong defense to get back into the contest. UD shot 17-21 (81%) from the free throw line including a 12-13 effort at the charity strip from Jai Love (St. Louis, Mo.) which matched his career-best in attempts and made shots at the line. UD gained 25 points from its bench, which led to three Crusaders grabbing career-highs on the afternoon.
Austin took a 16-6 advantage six minutes into the game. Three-straight jump shots for Dallas cut the lead to four (16-12) at the 12:21 mark. AC then hit two three-pointers to stop the UD rally. Just under eight minutes to play in the first half, AC went up by 10 after Michael Holland finished off the tip-in. UD got big three-pointers at key times, but AC answered right back and found mini-runs to take a 50-32 lead into halftime.
The 'Roos expanded their lead to 59-38 six minutes into this half, but Chance Lockhart (Clarendon, Texas) began a big Dallas run after this three-pointer sparked the Crusaders offense at the 13:58 mark. An 11-0 UD run made it a 10-point game again and put the Crusaders right back into the game, as Love had six points on that large comeback run. AC followed that up with a dunk on the other end and began to grow its lead once again. With six and a half minutes to play, Dustin Mathis (Fort Worth, Texas) hit two free throws to make it a three-possession game once again. UD cut it down to eight points later on, but AC would never surrender its lead or allow UD to get any closer.
Love had a career high 23 points and matched his career-best effort finishing 12-13 at the line to lead the Crusaders. Love also went 12-13 at the charity stripe in last year's SCAC semifinal game vs. Southwestern University last season. Letrell Toussaint (Waco, Texas) had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Matt Holloway (Melissa, Texas) notched a career high 12 points, while Lockhart also set a new career highs in the effort of 11 points and five rebounds. Lockhart was the lone Crusader to post more than one three-pointer after he nailed both of his shots from behind the arc. UD won the rebound battle 42-38 and scored 42 of its points in the paint. Dallas scored 17 points off of 11 AC turnovers.
AC shot 31-69 (44.9%) from the field and 12-17 (70.6% from the free throw line on the day. Devin Roland paced the 'Roos with 19 points. Holland had a solid afternoon with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists. Kameron Hill finished 3-7 from behind the arc and grabbed 11 points for Austin. AC dished out 17 assists and made 12 steals, forced 17 UD turnovers, and scored 19 points off of these mishaps. 22 of the 'Roos points came from its bench in the winning effort.
UP NEXT
Dallas will host two conference opponents next weekend. The Crusaders take on Johnson & Wales University (CO) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. UD then will faceoff with Colorado College on Saturday with first tip scheduled for 4:00 p.m.