Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (11.22.11) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team picked up its third straight win to start the season Tuesday night with an 82-58 non-conference victory over Austin College.
Chris Barnes recorded his second "double-double" in as many games as he finished the night with 25 points and a career-best 14 rebounds, both game highs.
Dmitriy Chernikov added a career-high 20 points while
Kyle Schleigh added 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists in a solid all-around performance.
The Comets (now 3-0) got off to a slow start as they scored just two points over the opening five minutes of play. However, a three-pointer by Schleigh with 13:54 left in the first half gave UTD a 7-4 lead and it never trailed again. The Comets extended its lead to ten points, 24-14, on a
Mitchell Anderson trey with 7:02 left in the half and ended the half on an 11-2 run to take a 39-23 lead into the locker room.
The visiting Roos (now 2-2) trimmed the UTD lead back to 10 points with 15:19 left in the contest when Josh Saunders' layup made it a 46-36 game, but that would be as close as the Austin College would get as the Comets slowly extended their advantage. Chernikov's jumper with 9:05 remaining would extend UTD lead back to 16 points, 61-45, before the Roos would attempt one last comeback attempt. However, a foul and technical foul by AC's Antoine Thompson allowed the Comets to hit four free throws with 2:42 left to take an 18-point cushion, 75-57, part of a 13-1 run to end the game by UTD.
Barnes ended the night 10-for-21 from the field, hitting 3-of-9 three-pointers, and was perfect 2-for-2 from the foul line. He moved into fourth all-time in UTD history, now with 1,058 career points. Barnes passed Brian Thomas (1,046, 1999-02) and is now just 11 points shy of former Comet
Brandon Greene for third place (1,069, 2006-11).
UTD shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field and made 7-of-21 shots (33.3%) from three-point range. The Comets hit 13-of-16 free throws (81.3%) while out-rebounding the Roos, 43-33.
For Austin College, Jordan Hancock finished with a team-best 11 points while Greg Harrell led the Roos with 10 rebounds. AC shot just 36.4 percent (20-of-55), hitting 6-of-19 (31.6%) from behind the arc, and shot 70.6% (12-of-17) from the free-throw line.
The Comets hit the road for a pair of American Southwest Conference crossover games as they visit Howard Payne (Saturday, 3 p.m.) and Sul Ross State (Monday, 6:30 p.m.) after a short holiday break.
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