Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (12.03.12) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team hit 11 three-pointers and nailed free throws down the stretch as the Comets picked up a home-opening 78-66 win over Texas Lutheran Monday night in American Southwest Conference play.
Mitchell Anderson scored a career-high 21 points, draining five three-pointers, as he sparked the Comets (now 5-1, 2-1 ASC) to an early lead. Teammate
Kyle Schleigh then picked up the pace in the second half, scoring 17 of his game-high 24 points over the final 20 minutes, hitting 10-of-11 free throws to seal the win over the Bulldogs.
Anderson hit four of his five three-pointers in the first half as he scored 16 points before the break to lift the Comets to a 39-25 advantage. UTD used seven first-half treys as a team and dominated the boards (16-9) in the opening half to secure the 14-point lead at the break. The Bulldogs, however, made a late run and drew within three points with just under three minutes to play before the Comets iced the game by hitting 9-of-10 foul shots to pull away for the 12-point victory.
The Bulldogs opened the night with two quick field goals, catching UTD on its heels. However, back-to-back treys by Anderson lifted the Comets' spirits and boosted UTD to a 17-6 run over the next eight minutes when Anderson third triple gave the Comets a 17-10 lead with 11:51 remaining in the first half. A three-pointer by
Ryan Smith with 6:27 left in the half gave UTD its first double-digit lead of the game, 26-14. The Comets led by as many as 17 points in the half, that coming with 12 seconds left before the break when an Anderson jumper gave UTD a 39-22 lead, but a late three-pointer by TLU's Evan Reed trimmed the Comet lead back to 14 points.
The Comets grabbed their first 20-point lead of the night not two minutes into the second half when Schleigh capped a 5-0 run with a put back of an Anderson jumper as UTD lead the Bulldogs, 47-27, with 18:14 to go. But then TLU battled back and slowly chipped away at the Comet lead. TLU's Brandon Holderread hit a jumper with 13:36 remaining in the game to cap a 15-2 run by the Bulldogs to climb within seven points, 49-42. The Comets kept TLU at bay for the next eight minutes, not allowing the Bulldogs any closer than seven points, but TLU then got back-to-back three-pointers from Garrett Wilkins and a layup by Brandon Potts to draw within four, 66-62, with 4:24 remaining.
Schleigh hit 3-of-4 free throws over the next two minutes to keep TLU at bay before Wilkins cut the Comet cushion down to three points, 67-64, with 2:44 left to play with jumper in the paint. However, a couple free throws by Schleigh and a layup by Nash, assisted by Schleigh, gave UTD back a seven-point lead and the Comets never looked back as TLU was forced to foul over the final minute of the game.
UTD finished the game 11-for-20 (55%) from three-point range and hit 15-of-18 free-throws (83.3%). As a team, the Comets shot a season-best 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from the field. Schleigh was 6-for-10 from the field, hitting both three-pointers attempted, and added a game-high 11 rebounds for his second "double-double" in three games. Anderson was 8-for-14 from the field, hitting 5-of-8 treys, and added a career-best tying five rebounds and a pair of steals. Anderson's previous game high was eight points, that coming in last year's season opener. Nash was 5-for-11 from the field and had six rebounds and four assists.
For Texas Lutheran (now 1-5, 1-2 ASC), Wilkins led four Bulldog starters in double figures with 19 points. Reed had 11 points while Potts and Troy Griffith each contributed 10 points. The Bulldogs shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field, hitting 7-of-14 three-pointers (50%), and hit 7-of-10 (70%) shots from the free-throw line.
The Comets continue their short two-game home stand Sunday afternoon as they host Schreiner. Game time is 3 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.
