RICHARDSON, TX (12.21.17) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team got off to a hot start and never looked back as the Comets earned an 81-65 home win over MacMurray College Thursday night in non-conference play.

The Comets scored 17 points off of 15 first-half turnovers by MacMurray en route to a 44-17 halftime advantage. UTD was 18-for-36 from the floor in the opening half, hitting seven three-pointers, and committed just one turnover of its own in the first 20 minutes of the contest.

UTD would maintain a 20-point lead of the majority of the second half before the Highlanders rallied late, thanks to 23 second-half points from Kendall Davis off the bench. Davis would hit five three-pointers down the stretch as MacMurray would cut the Comet lead to as few as 10 points with 1:19 on the clock. However, UTD would hit 3-of-4 free throws and get a later trey from freshman Kelden Pruitt to ice the game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Comets finished the night scoring 27 points off of  a season-high 24 forced turnovers. UTD also out-manned the Highlanders in the paint, 26-20, but were out-rebounded, 30-25.

UTD shot 48.3 percent (29-for-60) for the game, hitting a season-best 12 three-pointers out of 27 attempts. The Comets were 11-of-15 (73.3%) from the line and committed just eight turnovers, one shy of a season low.

KEY PERFORMERS
Sophomore Dimitrius Underwood led the Comets with 23 points while adding four steals, three assists and three rebounds. Underwood was 8-of-13 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. Jon Hatcher finished with 19 points, hitting 4-of-6 treys, while Caleb Banks added 14 points and a season-high eight assists, and Michael Forster came off the bench for 11 points. Hatcher led UTD with six rebounds.

NEXT GAME
The Comets will take the next week off before returned to action for a pair of road games next weekend. UTD will visit Rhodes on Friday, Dec. 29, before facing Hendrix on Sunday, Dec. 31.