Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (11.19.11) - Senior
Chris Barnes scored 25 points and added 10 rebounds as the UT Dallas men's basketball team handed Centenary a 79-66 Saturday afternoon to celebrating Homecoming.
Barnes shot 9-of-14 from the floor, hitting 5-of-7 three-point attempts, and was 2-for-2 from the foul line as he was one of four Comets to reach double-figure scoring in the afternoon. His game-high 10 rebounds gave the San Antonio product five career "double-doubles", with the previous four coming last season. Just four days after becoming just the sixth 1,000-point scorer in UTD men's basketball history, Barnes climbed into fifth place all-time for the Comets, now with 1,033 career points. Barnes is just 15 points behind fourth place Brian Thomas, who scored 1,046 points from 1999-2002.
Greg Chiasson added 12 points while
Kyle Schleigh and
Carter Nash both scored 11 points. Schleigh added eight rebounds, two boards shy of his fourth career "double-double".
The Comets (now 2-0) got off a quick start but cooled off quickly as neither team could find a handle on their offense over the opening 10 minutes of play. UTD widened its lead to 21-11 with 6:09 left in the opening half on a Barnes three-pointer and eventually snagged a 19-point cushion, 34-15, on another Barnes trey with 2:38 left before the break. Barnes scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half with all five of his three-pointers coming in the opening 20 minutes. The Comets led, 35-22, at the intermission.
UT Dallas took its first 20-point lead with11:17 remaining on a three-pointer by Chiasson and extended its lead to as many as 26 points, 61-36, with 9:25 left after an old-fashioned three-point play by Nash. But, the Gents (now 0-1) rallied to trim the Comet lead back to 17 points, 66-49, with 3:32 left on a three-pointer by Caden Cheramine and finished the game on an 11-5 run to close to 13 points at the final horn.
The Comets shot 49.1 percent as a team from the field, hitting 27-of-55 shots from the floor, while making just 7-of-23 three-pointers as a squad (30.4%). UTD hit 18-of-21 free throws for 85.7 percent. The Comets dominated the boards, out-rebounding Centenary, 40-29.
For the Gents, Maxx Nakwaasah scored a game-high 26 points while Daniel Allen had 11 points and Cheramie finished with 10 points. Centenary shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field, making 7-of-20 shots (35%) from three-point range, and shot 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the foul line.
Barnes, a native of San Antonio, scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half as the Comets (now 2-0) took a 13-point lead, 35-22, into the locker room. UTD then shot nearly 54 percent over the final half to hold off the Gents (now 0-1)
The Comets return to action Tuesday night when they host Austin College in a non-conference contest to wrap up a three-game home stand to open the season. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.
BOX SCORE
