RICHARDSON, TX (11.25.17) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team nearly erased an 18-point deficit with just over five minutes left to play before falling to Southwestern, 80-77, Saturday afternoon in non-conference action.
The Comets trailed Southwestern, 73-55, with 5:04 remaining in the contest before rolling off 17 straight points to cut the Pirate lead to a single point with 2:30 left to play. UTD would eventually tie the game, 76-76, after a fast-break lay up by Dimitrius Underwood with 53 seconds left, but could not take the lead. Underwood's potential game-tying lay up with four seconds left fell short and Southwestern hit a free throw with 1.7 on the clock to seal the win.
After allowing the visiting Pirates to shoot 60 percent from the field in the opening half, the Comets got defensive late in the game to set up the dramatics in the final minute. A three-pointer from Curtis Allen with 4:53 left would trigger the Comets' 17-0 run, followed by four steals by UTD over the next two minutes. Allen would add two more three-pointers during the stretch and Underwood accounted for nine points of his own before the Comets would knot the game.
The Pirates (2-2) would get a pair of free throws from Brandon Alexander with 29 seconds left and UTD countered with 1-of-2 free shots by Caleb Banks on the Comets next trip down the floor to keep the deficit to a single point. Alexander would then hit another free shot, missing the second, setting up Underwood potential game-tying shot.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Pirates opened the game 6-for-7 from three-point range, en route to a 47-23 halftime lead. Southwestern finished the opening half 18-of-30 from the field and 7-of-11 (63.6%) from beyond the arc. The Comets clamped down in the second, holding the Pirates to just 44 percent accuracy (11-of-25) in the second half as SU hit just 3-of-12 (25%) three-pointers after the break. The Pirates ended the game shooting 52.7 percent (29-of-55) as a team.
UTD finished the game shooting 35.2 percent (25-of-710, despite hitting just 9-of-37 shots (24.3%) during the first 20 minutes. The Comets were 1-for-11 (9.1%) from three-point range in the first half as they tried to keep pace with Southwestern. UTD was 16-of-34 (47.1%) from the field in the second half and hit 6-of-13 (46.2%) three-pointers in the period. The Comets were 7-for-8 from the field during their 17-0 run late in the game.
Southwestern led by as many as 26 points in the opening.
KEY PLAYERS
Underwood finished with a game-high 22 points, hitting 7-of-16 shots from the field and 8-of-9 free throws, while adding four rebounds, four assists and seven steals. Jon Hatcher added 11 points while Ben Smith added 10 points off the bench. Smith has scored in double figures in each of the Comets' three games this season.
Banks had seven points, seven assists and five rebounds while Kelden Pruitt had five boards.
NEXT GAME
The Comets (2-1) have one more non-conference game left before the start of American Southwest Conference action as UTD visits NCAA Division I foe Texas-Arlington Monday night. Game time is 7 p.m. in Arlington.
