RICHARDSON, TX (01.23.14) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team shot nearly 60 percent from the field as the Comets cruised past Ozarks, 97-76, Thursday night in American Southwest Conference play.

The Comets (now 14-1, 12-0 ASC) have now matched the best start in program history after collecting their ninth straight victory and 19th consecutive regular-season ASC win, dating back to last season. UTD is now just one victory shy of the fourth 10-game winning streak all-time. The program record for consecutive wins is 13, set during the 2011-12 season.  UTD had an 11-game winning streak in the 2006-07 campaign and a 10-game streak during the 2010-11 season.

Junior Nolan Harvey finished with a career-high 27 points as he led three Comets in double figures, marking his fourth 20-point performance in the last seven games. Matthew Medell had 18 points and Dmitriy Chernikov added 17 points. UTD's leading scorer Kyle Schleigh was limited to just five points but finished the game with a team-best nine rebounds, moving him in to fifth place on the ASC's career rebounding list. With 767 career boards, Schleigh passed former East Texas Baptist player Cedric Isom for the No. 5 spot. Schleigh could potentially climb as high as third on the list by the end of the season.

After a sluggish start, the Comets used a pair of runs to bounce back and eventually take control of the game midway through the first half. Trailing 8-2 just two minutes into the contest, UTD used a 7-0 spurt over the next 76 seconds to grab a 9-8 advantage. After taking the lead for good less than a minute later on a Medell three-pointer, the Comets slowly pulled away before using an 8-0 stretch just after the halfway mark of the period to grab a 34-17 lead on a Chris McOmber trey with 7:58 left before intermission. The guest Eagles countered with nine-straight points over the next three minutes to cut the lead to single digits, but UTD finished the half strong and took a 41-30 lead into the locker room.

The Comets then shot an impressive 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the field in the second half to outscore Ozarks, 56-46, in the final 20 minutes. UTD was 4-for-9 from outside the arc and 16-of-20 from the foul line in the second half to ice the win. The Comets never led by less than 11 points in the second half, leading by as many as 27 points, 85-58 with 5:56 left, before setting for the 21-point win.

UTD, receiving votes in the latest D3Hoops.com Top 25, earned its 12th win by double-digits this season and sixth win, including the past three in a row, by more than 20 points. The Comets' 97 points is a season high and the most by the by the program since a 101-74 win over Concordia Texas on Jan. 6, 2011.

The Comets shot a season-best 59.3 percent (32-of-54) from the field as a team, the fifth-best single-game performance in the program's 16-year history. UTD was 8-for-18 (44.4%) from three-point range and shot 78.1% (25-of-32) from the foul line. Harvey finished the contest 7-for-10 from the field and 12-for-14 from the line, adding five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot. Medell was 6-for-11, hitting three three-pointers, while Chernikov was 7-for-10 with a pair of treys. The Comets out-rebounded Ozarks, 39-32.

For the Eagles (5-11, 3-10 ASC), Ricky Allen led four Ozarks' players in double digits with a team-high 17 points. Ted Beard finished with a "double-double" with 14 points and game-high 12 boards while Kelby Robinson had 13 points and Joshua Clark finished with 11 points. Ozarks shot 37.7 percent (26-of-69) from the field, hitting 8-of-24 three-pointers (33.3%) and shot 88.9 percent (16-of-18) from the free-throw line.

The Comets continue their stretch of five home games in 10 days Saturday afternoon when they host rival Texas-Tyler. Game time is set for 3 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.