Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (02.09.12) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team has many reasons to celebrate Thursday night as the Comets picked up their ninth straight win, downing Mississippi College, 72-67, in American Southwest Conference East Division play.
On his first field goal of the night, senior forward
Chris Barnes became the Comets' all-time leading scorer and by holding off the Choctaws late rally, UTD secured a share of its fourth consecutive ASC East title. The Comets are guaranteed the No. 1 seed from the East Division in the ASC Tournament, scheduled for Feb. 24-26 at the top seed from West.
Barnes, a native of San Antonio, hit a three-pointer with 15:07 left in the first half to move him past former Comet Martin Salinas for UTD's all-time scoring mark. The Churchill High School product finished the night with 11 points and now has 1,345 career points with three games left in the regular season. Salinas ended his career from 2003-07 with 1,336 points.
The two teams battled through four ties and seven lead changes in the opening 10 minutes before the Comets mounted a 10-0 run over a stretch of nearly five minutes to pull away with a 23-14 lead after a jumper by
Dmitriy Chernikov with 6:13 left in the half. UTD led by as many as 10 points in the period before setting for a 37-29 lead at the break.
The Comets (now 18-4, 13-4 ASC) maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half as
Kyle Schleigh carried UTD to the victory with 16 of his game-high 29 points coming over the final 20 minutes of play. The Comets led by as many as 18 points in the half, that margin coming with 9:06 left to play when a Barnes' trey gave UTD a 61-43 advantage. However, the Choctaws clawed back into the game late to force UTD to hit free throws down the stretch to ice the win.
Mississippi College (now 6-14, 5-12 ASC) trimmed the lead to single digits for the first time since halftime when Trevon Malone's fast break dunk cut the Comet lead to just eight points, 63-55, with 5:58 remaining. The Choctaws eventually drew within three points, 68-65, with 58 seconds left, but a pair of free throws each by Barnes and Schleigh helped the Comets put the game away.
Schleigh finished the night 12-for-17 points from the field, making a pair of three-pointers and 3-for-4 from the foul line as he finished one point shy of his career high. He added a game-high nine rebounds along with three assists, a pair of steals and a blocked shot.
Carter Nash added 13 points and eight rebounds to round out the three UTD players in double-figure scoring.
The Comets shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) from the field, hitting 7-of-25 treys (28%), and shot 75 percent (15-of-20) from the charity stripe in the victory. UTD out-rebounded the Choctaws, 36-23.
For MC, Malone finished with a team-best 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Marlon Ester had 17 points and Chad Jones added 12 points. Ester was 6-for-7 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, with his only missed shot coming in the final seconds of the game. Malone also led the Choctaws with eight rebounds. MC shot an impressive 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from the floor in the loss, hitting 6-of-10 three-pointers, but hit just 9-of-15 free throws (60%).
Barnes and fellow senior
Greg Chiasson will be recognized Saturday afternoon as the Comets host Louisiana College in the final home game of the season for UT Dallas. Tip-off for "Senior Day" is set for 3 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.
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