RICHARDSON, TX (01.24.15) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team relied heavily on its starting five as the Comets held off an athletic Ozarks squad, 76-61, Saturday afternoon in American Southwest Conference play.

The Comets (now 12-5, 7-5 ASC) got 66 of 76 points from their starters with Kyle Coulter leading three UTD players in double figures with a season-high 24 points. Rafael Farley finished with 19 points while Matthew Medell had 10 points. Reagan Keogh ended the game with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds while point guard Caleb Banks had six points to round out the Comet starting lineup.

UTD opened the game with a quick 9-0 run and never trailed despite the visiting Eagles (6-11, 3-10 ASC) mounting several second-half rallies. The Comets extended the lead to 16-2 with 12:55 left before half, grabbing their largest lead of the opening period. Ozarks climbed within seven points late in the half before UTD entered the locker room with a 31-20 lead.

The Eagles scored five quick points to open the second half to climb within six points, 31-25, before UTD would post a 19-5 blast to pick up its first 20-point lead of the night, 50-30, after a Medell free throw with 13:31 remaining. The Comets widened their margin to 25 points with just under 10 minutes to play when Dapo Ogunfeitmi used a put back to lift UTD to a 63-38 advantage. Ozarks slowly clawed back, cutting the lead to 11 points, 68-57, with 3:05 left before the Comets hit 6-of-9 free throws over the final 2:12 to ice the game.

Coulter finished the game 8-of-13 from the field, hitting 3-of-4 three-pointers, and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the foul line, while adding six rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocked shots. The Comets shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field and hit 13-of-18 free throws. UTD was 11-of-28 (39.3%) from three-point range, connecting on 10 or more long-distance shots for the 11th in 17 games this season.

The Comets return to action Thursday night as they visit Howard Payne. Game time in Brownwood is 7:30 p.m.