RICHARDSON, TX (01.03.14) – The UT Dallas men's basketball team bounced back from a pre-holiday loss in a big way, raining 15 three-pointers in a runaway 73-60 non-conference victory over Trinity University.
 
The Comets (8-3), who dropped a home decision to Howard Payne just before Christmas, ran out to a 29-5 lead in the first 8:36 of the game and never looked back, handing a young Trinity squad its 10^th loss in 11 starts this season. UTD finished just one three-pointer shy of the school single-game record with 15, hitting five in a row to start the game and nine of their first 11 attempts from beyond the arc to build the early lead.
 
Matthew Medell (4-for-8 on threes) and Kyle Coulter (3-for-4) each scored 18 points to lead the Comets in scoring while Nolan Harvey (12 points) and Rafael Farley (10 points) also finished in double figures. Coulter posted a double-double for UTD, also leading the team with 11 rebounds.
 
In a game that was much more one-sided than the final score indicated, UTD stretched its lead to as many as 25 points (65-40 on a pair of Keogh free throws with 7:44 remaining) before the Tigers closed the margin late against mostly Comet reserves.
 

After starting the game on fire while building its early 29-5 lead, UTD cooled off considerably. A Coulter tip-in at 7:42 accounted for the Comets' only points during a five-minute stretch. Farley stopped that drought with a three at the 5:47 mark, but UTD didn't score from the floor again until finishing the half with a 7-2 run to take a 42-20 lead into the dressing room.

Fortunately for the Comets, Trinity wasn't able to mount much of a rally during that dry spell as the UTD defense allowed the Tigers just 8-of-25 shooting (32 percent) in the first period. (The Tigers finished the game at 42 percent after a more efficient second period.)
 
The Tigers came to life after the break, using an 8-2 run to cut UTD's lead  back down to 20 (54-34) for the first of four times at the 12:16 mark. But it took Trinity seven more minutes to break the 20-point barrier (67-49) on a Nik Oakes three-pointer with 5:17 remaining. After UTD Coach Terry Butterfield emptied the bench with 16 players seeing action, the Tigers were finally able to to get as close as 13 (73-60), but that came with just :06 on the game clock.

UTD won the rebounding battle, 37-31, particularly on the offensive end where the Comets tallied 18 points on second-chance baskets. After a hot first-half, hitting 15-of-37 shots (53.8 percent), the Comets cooled down to finish the game at 43.1 percent.
 
The Comets are back on the home Thursday, returning to conference play against previously undefeated East Texas Baptist University, which lost its first game of the season at Concordia (74-67) Saturday. Tipoff for the men's game is at 7:30 pm.