Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (11.30.09) – He misfired on his first five shots, but
Scott Rodgers never lifted his trigger finger.
It was a good thing. Like he did two days before, the senior had an electrifying second half after sputtering in the first as UTD cruised past Concordia 81-62 for their fifth straight victory, improving to 2-0 in American Southwest Conference play.
Rodgers tallied 23 points and eight rebounds—both team highs—as the Comets completed a flawless three-game homestand and improved to 5-1 on the season.
Jordan Eppink and
Chris Barnes each chipped in 14 points,
Brandon Greene added 12 and UT Dallas used an 18-2 second-half run to bury the Tornados (1-3, 0-2).
For the second straight game, Rodgers shook off a rusty first half and jumpstarted the Comets' offense in the second. He contributed nine points to UTD's post-halftime surge, including three straight back-door lay-ups.
“The thing about Scott that makes so valuable is that he never gets down,” said UTD coach
Terry Butterfield. “He never worries about what happened two seconds ago. He worries about the next play.”
Rodgers was just 1-of-5 from the perimeter, but was a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe for the third straight contest. His teammates did not shoot any better from 3-point range—the Comets finished just 4-of-14 from downtown after missing their first seven attempts.
But instead of relying on its long range shooting, UTD took advantage of a porous CTX frontcourt and attacked the paint. Greene, Barnes and swingman
Curtis Davis, who slammed home a tomahawk dunk in the first half, converted on a series of back-door cuts that helped build an insurmountable lead after the break.
“We did miss some 3s, but we got some good stuff at the basket,” said Butterfield. “We made some great plays behind their defense.”
The Tornados mounted a 9-0 run and came to within 11 with under four minutes left, but Eppink scored seven of UTD's next 10 points as the Comets took an 80-60 lead. From there, UTD subs began to filter in and starters like Rodgers, who logged 36 minutes, were able to exit early.
The Comets (5-1, 2-0) are now 8-5 against CTX, dating back to the 1998-99 season. Butterfield's squad as now won five straight after dropping its season opener to Austin College back on Nov. 15. Now, after stockpiling some momentum, UTD will take off on a four-day road trip to Sul Ross St. and Howard Payne before having a fifteen day layover in the heart of December.
“It's nice to start your league play at home, but now we've got to establish ourselves in our road,” said Butterfield. “That's where you create an identity. Being able to go a long way, sleep in a hotel, eat restaurant food—it's a tough thing. And I expect two difficult ball games ahead of us.”
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