Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (11.16.10) - The No. 17-ranked UT Dallas men's basketball team shot 60 percent from the field in the second half to erase a 10-point halftime deficit and defeat Austin College, 98-84, here Tuesday night in the season opener for both schools.
Junior
Chris Barnes led five Comets in double digits as scored 26 points and added a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior
Jimmy Witten had 22 points and nine rebounds, nearly giving both UTD big men a "double-double" in the victory.
Trailing 47-37 at the break, the Comets (1-0) stepped it up on both ends of the court in the second half. UTD hit 15-of-25 shots from the field as a team in the final 20 minutes and forced 19 second-half turnovers by the Kangaroos. The Comets would outscore AC, 61-37, in the second half, despite the Roos shooting 54.2 percent in the second half.
AC (0-1) widened its lead to as many as 11 points twice early in the second half before the Comets began their charge. UTD used a 6-0 run in a span of less than a minute, capped by a three-point play by Witten, trimming the deficit to five points, 53-48, with 16:56 remaining.
The Comets would take their first lead of the second half, 64-62. with 12:16 left to play when Barnes drained a three-pointer in the midst of a 16-0 run by UTD. The Comets would expand its lead to 12 points, 74-62, before AC would stop the run with a pair of free throws by Josh Saunders. UTD would extend its lead to as many as 15 points before securing the 14-point win.
Barnes ended the game 7-for-12 from the field (3-for-4 from three-point range) and hit 9-of-10 shots from the free-throw line. Witten was 7-of-14 from the field and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Freshman
Kyle Schleigh came off the bench to score an efficient 15 points in just 17 minutes in his first collegiate game. Schleigh was just 3-for-4 from the field (1-for-1 from three-point range), but was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free-throw line. Senior
Curtis Davis and junior
Greg Chiasson both ended the night with 13 points to round out the Comets in double figures. Chiasson and senior
Brandon Greene led UTD with five assists each.
UTD ended the night with a school-record 39 free throws and missed the school record for free throw attempts by just one shot with 48. The previous records (37-of-49) was set against East Texas Baptist in 2004.
For AC, Saunders ended the night with a game-high 29 points while Jordan Hancock added 20 points. The Comets out-rebounded their guests, 40-23.
UTD returns to action Saturday afternoon when the Comets host Schreiner. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.
BOX SCORE
