Box Score SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (03.07.09) – The UT Dallas men's basketball team will advance to the "Sweet 16" in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament after smothering Trinity University, 70-54 Saturday night.
The Comets (25-4) will face Capital University (OH) in the first game of a four-team sectional playoff tournament next Friday and Saturday, March 13-14. UTD meets Capital at 6:00 PM ET (5:00 pm CT) Friday.
The tournament will be hosted by John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. John Carroll and Guilford College (NC), whom the Comets defeated earlier this season, will meet in the other game with the two winners playing for the right to advance to the Division III Final Four on Saturday night.
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UTD advanced to the "Sweet 16" for the first time in program history Saturday with a smothering defensive showing against the Tigers, who entered the game at 24-4 with a first-round 68-64 win over Maryville (TN) under their belt. The Comets' trapping zone defense held the Tigers to just 27 percent shooting (15-of-55) for the game, giving up just six baskets total inside the 3-point arch. Trinity scored 27 of its points with 3-pointers and was 15-of-20 at the free throw line.
The Comets, meanwhile, took the ball right at the Trinity defense, scoring 44 points in the paint, including 12 on fast-break opportunities. UTD shot 48 percent for the game, and were 15-of-26 (58 percent) in the second half when the game was on the line.
The game was not a one-sided affair until the final 10 minutes, when UTD stopped the Tigers from scoring but one basket from the field (a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining). After falling behind in a back-and-forth game for the sixth time (41-40) at 13:15,
Jimmy Witten and
Temaine Wright scored seven quick points and UTD started inching ahead. Trinity's Luke Caldarera hit a jumper with 10:21 left to cut the lead to 47-43, but the Tigers didn't score again from the field for the next 10:11.
The Comets, meanwhile
, got a big 3-pointer from
Chris Barnes to start opening up the lead, followed by six points from
Scott Rodgers in 2:39 span to move out to a 10-point edge (58-48) with 5:04 left. Trinity kept things in reach only by going to the free-throw line 11 times during the span and were still within nine points at 3:38 (60-51). But a Trinity offensive foul led the way to a Wright layup (2:40), two missed free throws turned into a
Jordan Eppink 3-pointer (1:55) and a Rodgers rebound led to a Witten fast-break layup and UTD was in control 67-51 with 1:25 left in the game.
Wright, the Comets' senior point guard, was determined to keep his collegiate career alive, scoring 13 points with 13 rebounds. Witten led the Comets with 15 points and Eppink, Rodgers and
Brandon Greene combined for 31 points. Remarkably, UTD turned the ball over just six times while forcing 14 from the Tigers. The Comets survived a 42-33 deficit in the rebounding battle.
Early on, the game had all the makings of a classic playoff game with the two teams trading three ties and 10 lead changes in the first half. Trinity had its biggest lead at five (17-12) 11:18 into the game, but a 12-2 run by the Comets turned the game around at 24-19 (3:58). The Tigers countered with a 9-5 run to finish the half and trailed UTD just 29-28 at the half. UTD opened the second half on a 7-2 run to go up 36-30, but Trinity fought back to take their last lead at 41-40 at the afore-mentioned 13:15 mark.
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