Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (01.17.09) - The 22nd-ranked UT Dallas men's basketball team pulled off an dramatic rally to claim a 60-59 win over LeTourneau University Saturday afternoon, giving the Comets the early lead in the American Southwest Conference East Division race.

UTD (14-1 overall) improved to 9-1 and took over first place in the ASC East Division, taking a one-grame lead over the Yellowjackets (10-5, 8-2) and UT-Tyler (8-7, 8-2), which also dropped its Saturday game with Mississippi College by the same score, 60-59. UTD hosts Ozarks Monday night, then travels to UT-Tyler on Thursday.

With the exception of an early 11-9 lead, LeTourneau dominated the poor-shooting Comets for much of the game. It wasn't until midway through the second half that the Comets rallied to cut the lead, then pulled ahead for only the second time in the game in the game's final minute.

Down three, UTD's Scott Rodgers got a critical rebound with :44 left and sank a pair of free throws to get the Comets to within one point. Then as LETU set up for a potential game-clinching shot, Temaine Wright stripped the ball away from the 'Jackets' point guard Josh Davis and Ernie Lowery converted a layup to put UTD ahead 58-57 with just :28 left. It was the first time the Comets had led since early in the game.

On the ensuing trip down the court, LETU missed another shot and Jimmy Witten was fouled in the scramble for the rebound. Witten's two free throws with :08 on the clock stretched UTD's lead to three.UTD hit 7-of-8 from the line down the stretch. The Yellowjackets attempted to tie with a three-point shot, but were only able to convert on a tip-in as time expired, leaving them a point short of sending the game into overtime.

In the first half, the Yellowjackets built up a 35-21 halftime advantage and still had a double-digit lead as late as 10:57 left in the game. UTD, which had trailed by as many as 14 points in the second period, went on a quick 8-0 run between the 9:55 and 8:44 marks to fight its way back into the game and set up the dramatic ending.

With 7:25 remaining in the game, a three-point play by Rodgers made ithe score 48-46, but LETU was able to stretch the lead back out to 52-46 at 5:47 with a run of its own.

UTD dug itself quite a hole early, hitting just 7-of-30 first-half shots (23.3 percent) and were struggling from outside the arch (2-of-13 3-point shooting for the game).  Meanwhile, LETU was hitting at a 54.2 percent clip, mostly inside, during the first period and seemed to be on its way to running away with the game. The Yellowjackets, who hit four 3-pointers in the first half, could not connect in the second half, and hit just 8-of-21 from the field after halftime. LETU put itself at another disadvantage when the Jackets' coaching staff lost track of their timeouts and used their final break with 4:03 still to go in the game.

Lowery's 23-point game kept UTD in it while several scorers were struggling. Rodgers had 14 points off the bench and Temaine Wright ended with 12 points and six rebounds. Witten added nine rebounds while Lowery picked up seven along with Jordan Eppink. UTD actually controlled the boards, 40-33 .

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