RICHARDSON, TX (12.8.10) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team held visiting Texas Lutheran to just three first half field goals en route to a 77-63 home win over the Bulldogs Wednesday night in American Southwest Conference play.
The Comets (now 5-2, 4-2 ASC) held TLU to 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from the field as a team in the opening period as UTD slowly pulled away for a sizable lead, finishing the half with a 16-point advantage. The second half was a different story entirely as the guest Bulldogs outscored UTD, 49-47, as the two squads combined for 29 fouls and 39 free-throw attempts over the final 20 minutes of play.
UTD took a quick lead in the contest, grabbing a 16-4 advantage at the midway point of the first half after a 9-1 run by the Comets. The run was capped by five straight points by UTD junior forward Chris Barnes who nearly captured a "double-double" by the break. The Comets led, 30-14, at the intermission as Barnes hit a buzzer-beater after an offensive board.
The Comets opened the second half with vigor as UTD used a 13-3 spurt to start pulling away. The home squad grabbed a 46-17 lead with 14:54 left in the game on a trey by senior Brandon Greene and eventually extended its lead to 30 points just over two minutes later, 53-23, on a lay up by junior Greg Chiasson. The Comets maintained a lead of 20 points or more for the majority of the second half until TLU rolled off a 17-6 run over the final 2:56 to cut the final deficit down to 14 points.
UTD shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) as a team from the field, hitting just 9-of-27 (33.3%) from three-point range on the night, and ended the contest 20-of-24 (83.3%) from the foul line. The Comets were just 2-of-2 from the charity stripe in the opening half. Chaisson led four Comets in double digits with 16 points while Barnes' 15 points and game-high 13 rebounds gave him his fourth "double-double" of the young season. Greene added 12 points and freshman Kyle Schleigh had 10 points.
For TLU (now 1-4, 1-3 ASC), tog 14 points from Isaac Williams as he led three Bulldogs in double digits. Mark Kovach had 13 points and Malcome Dotson added 10 points. Williams also led TLU with seven rebounds. The Bulldogs ended the game 20-of-52 (38.5%) from the field after hitting 17 second-half field goals and hit just 3-of-11 shots (27.3%) from three-point range. TLU was 20-of-27 (74.1%) from the free-throw line.
The Comets return to action a week from tonight when they visit Austin College in a non-conference tilt next Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Sherman.