Box Score ABILENE, TX (12.01.12) - Junior
Kyle Schleigh topped the 30-point mark for the third time in his career but the UT Dallas men's basketball team was still handed its first loss of the season as the Comets fell at Hardin-Simmons, 64-62, in American Southwest Conference play.
HSU's Titus Mims capped a solid second half with a pair of free throws with six seconds left to break a 62-62 tie. The Comets failed to get a shot off on their ensuing possession as UTD looked to force overtime. Mims finished the game with 16 points, 15 of which came in the second half.
UTD (now 4-1, 1-1 ASC) grabbed its last lead night of the afternoon with 2:20 left to play when
Mitchell Anderson drained a three-pointer to lift the Comets to a 62-60 advantage. However, the Comets would not score another point over the final 140 seconds. The two teams traded steals after Anderson's three-pointer before Hardin-Simmons knotted the game with 1:35 remaining on a Darius Singletary layup.
A steal by Singletary on the Comets' next trip down the floor followed by an Anderson foul on HSU's Bernard Stiggers gave the Cowboys a chance to take the lead with 54 seconds remaining. However, a lane violation by Stiggers kept the game in a stalemate, setting up a potential go-ahead possession by the Comets.
UTD moved the ball around the key, setting up a clean look at the basket by Schleigh, but his three-pointer fell short off the rim and into the hands of Stiggers with 34 seconds left. The Cowboys then nearly ran out the shot clock before Mims was fouled by UTD's
Carter Nash on a base-line dunk attempt, setting up the game-winning free-throws.
The Comets shot just 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from the field and were out-rebounded by HSU, 25-17, in the opening half but still held a slim 29-27 lead at the break. Schleigh extended the Comets lead to four points with a jumper to open the second half, but the Cowboys followed up with a 14-2 run to grab a 41-33 lead at the 15:08 mark when George Nelson completed a three-point play.
UTD answered with field goals on its next three trips down the floor to cut the Cowboy lead in half but HSU responded with four straight points of its own to regain an eight-point advantage, 47-39, cushion with 12:07 left. The Comets slowly chipped away at the HSU lead over the next several minutes before regaining the lead, 56-54, with 5:27 remaining on a Schleigh dunk followed by a pair of free throws after a Singletary technical foul.
The Cowboys answered, however, with a layup by Mims and a pair of free-throws by Singletary to regain a two-point cushion, 58-56, with 3:58 left to play. Schleigh then connected on his only three-point attempt with 3:08 on the clock to give the Comets a 59-58 advantage, but Nelson answered for the Cowboys on their next possession with a layup, giving HSU back a one-point lead. Anderson's on only field goal of the game then gave UTD its final lead of the afternoon before the Cowboys scored the final four points of the contest.
UTD finished the game shooting 47.8 percent (22-of-46) from the field, connecting on just 4-of-16 three-pointers (25%), and shot just 63.6 percent (14-of-22) from the free-throw line. Schleigh ended contest 11-for-16 from the field (1-for-5 3pt) and hit 8-of-11 free-throws. He added eight rebounds, six steals and three assists. Nash finished with second "double-double" of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
For Hardin-Simmons (3-1, 2-0 ASC), Nelson finished with 19 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Cowboys. Singletary joined Nelson and Mims in double figures with 12 points. The Cowboys shot just 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field, making just 3-of-14 three-pointers (21.4%), and hit 15-of-20 free-throws (75%). HSU out-rebounded the Comets, 41-28.
The Comets return to action Monday night as they host Texas Lutheran in their home opener. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.
