Box Score RICHARDSON, TX (02.23.13) - The season for the UT Dallas men's basketball team likely came to end Saturday afternoon with an 82-75 loss to Concordia-Texas in the semifinals of the American Southwest Conference Tournament.
The Comets (now 20-7) are ranked No. 7 in the latest NCAA Division III South Regional Rankings, but will have to wait until Monday for the announcement of the bracket for the National Tournament. Concordia (now 22-5) will face Mary Hardin-Baylor in the ASC title game at 2 p.m. in the UTD Activity Center.
With the game tied, 33-33, at the break, the Comets and Tornados traded leads 13 times over the final 20 minutes before Concordia took the lead for good with just over four minutes to play. The two teams found themselves tied five times in the second half, including at the 4:49 mark (70-70) when
Carter Nash hit the first of two free throws. The Tornados, however, grabbed back the lead with 4:24 on the clock on a Brett DeMetrotion free shot and added two freebies by Nick Haynes 12 seconds later to grab a three-point cushion, 73-70.
UTD's
Matthew Medell drew the Comets back within a point with a running layup with 4:06 on the clock, but CTX quickly answered with a put back by Dwayne Patterson to regain a three-point lead. After the Tornados' second intentional foul of the game,
Mike Timmins hit the second of two free throws get UTD back within two points, but the Comets could take advantage of the extra possession as
Chris McOmber's three-pointer with 2:08 left fell off the rim and into the hands of DeMetrotion. DeMetrotion added two free shots to start of stretch of 7-of-8 foul shots made by the Tornados in the final 60 seconds to ice the game.
Kyle Schleigh led the Comets with a game-high 28 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. After his 13th "double-double" of the season, Schleigh became the program's career rebounding leader, now with 641 boards in just three seasons. Schleigh passed former Comet Jordan Eppink, who had 630 rebounds from 2006-10. Schleigh is also the Comets' career blocked shots leader (88) and ranks third all-time in scoring (1,227).
McOmber also had a "double-double" for the Comets, adding 15 points and 12 rebounds while
Nolan Harvey had 14 points to round out the UTD players in double-digit scoring. UTD finished the game shooting 44.8 percent (26-of-58), hitting just 4-of-19 three-pointers (21.1%), and shot just 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the foul line. UTD out-rebounded the Tornados, 48-43.
Concordia opened the game strong, scoring the first five points of the contest, but early fouls allowed the Comets to remain close. However, UTD hit just 7-of-16 first-half free throws and had 13 turnovers before the break. The two teams tied each other six times in the half and exchanged leads five times before intermission.
The Tornados broke the tie early in the second half on a Josh Sanchez layup just nine seconds into the half. Sanchez would take control of CTX offense in the second half, hitting 6-of-13 shots in the half for 15 points, many coming on driving layups. Over the first five minutes of the second half, the two teams traded leads twice and Concordia grabbed a lead as large as five points (42-37) before the Comets regained the lead, 43-42, with 15:05 to play after an old-fashioned three-point play.
The lead then changed hands eight times over the next three minutes before Concordia took a 56-55 advantage on a pair of free throws by Henry Riasco with 12:23 to play. CTX extended its lead to as many as six points twice before the Comets rallied with an 8-2 run to knot the game, 70-70, over a span of 3:44, capped by Nash's free shot.
For the Tornados, Patterson had 18 points while Sachez finished with 17 points. Terry Corprew added 11 points while Nick Haynes and Darien Harris each had 10 point to round out five CTX players in double figures. DeMetrotion had nine points and a game-high 14 rebounds. The Tornados shot just 35.6 percent (26-of-73) from the field, connecting on just 5-of-27 three-pointers (18.5%), and shot 78.1 percent (25-of-32) from the free-throw line.
