Box Score SHREVEPORT, LA (01.26.12) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team took a short break from American Southwest Conference play and cruised to a 82-58 road win over Centenary Thursday night.
Senior forward
Chris Barnes inched closer to the Comets' all-time scoring record as he paced UT Dallas with 22 points, hitting 8-of-12 shots with a pair of three-pointers and adding a 4-for-4 performance from the foul line. Barnes now has 1,288 career points in a Comet uniform, just 48 points away from Martin Salinas' record of 1,336 points (2003-07.)
The Comets (now 15-4) were able to string together their longest winning streak of the season after shooting 50 percent from the field in the opening half to snag a 42-27 advantage and the break. UTD hit 14-of-28 shots as a team in the first half, getting 15 points from Barnes, while holding the host Gents to 10-of-24 (41.7%) over the opening 20 minutes, including just 2-for-12 (16.7%) from three-point range.
Centenary (now 8-8) never got closer than 12 points in the second half, that coming in the first eight minutes of the period before UTD finished strong to seal its fifth win of 20 or more points this season. Over the final 9:45 of the game, the Comets outscored CC, 22-12, to ice the victory.
UT Dallas shot even better in the second half than the first, hitting 15-of-22 shots (68.2%) over the final 20 minutes. The Comets finished the night shooting 58 percent (29-of-50), making 9-of-22 three-pointers (40.9%), and connecting on 15-of-19 shots (78.9%) from the foul line. Joining Barnes in double-figure scoring were
Greg Chiasson with 17 points and
Kyle Schleigh with 12 points. Barnes, Schleigh and
Carter Nash each led the Comets with five rebounds.
The Gents saw their seven-game winning streak come to end after a 1-7 start to the season. Jonathan Blount led CC with 14 points while Maxx Nakwaash added 13 points. The Gents finished the night shooting 45 percent (18-of-40) from the floor, making just 3-of-14 three-pointers (21.4%), and shot 65.5 percent (15-of-25) from the charity stripe.
The Comets close their four-game road trip Saturday afternoon with a game at East Texas Baptist in ASC East Division play. With win over the Tigers, UTD would clinch a berth into a ninth straight ASC Tournament. Tip-off is 3 p.m. in Marshall.
BOX SCORE
