RICHARDSON, TX (01.20.18) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season Saturday afternoon with a 77-62 home win over Ozarks in American Southwest Conference East Division play.

The Comets opened the game strong and shot nearly 53 percent from the field in the opening half en route to a 41-22 lead at the break. UTD would have to hold off a late rally from the Eagles as Ozarks clawed within 10 points with just under four minutes to play, but the Comets finished the game by going 4-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line to end the game.

UTD grabbed its largest lead at 27 points, 57-30, with 10:58 left the play after a Hans Burwitz put back, but the Eagles would slowly chip away at the big lead. Ozarks cut the lead under 20 points with just over seven minutes to play when Joey Hall hit three-pointer to trim the UTD lead to 62-43. With 3:45 remaining, the Eagles got within 10 points after a Tim Turpin lay up, but they would get no closer.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
The Comets were 18-of-34 from the field in the opening half, outscoring the Eagles in the paint, 22-12. UTD finished the afternoon shooting 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the floor, connecting on 4-of-13 (30.8%) three-pointers. The Comets were just 13-of-24 (54.2%) from the line.

UTD out-rebounded the Eagles, 44-26, and finished with 22 points off of 17 Ozarks' turnovers.

KEY PERFORMERS
Dimitrius Underwood led the way with a game-high 20 points, hitting 8-of-15 shots from the field and going 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. Underwood added a team-best nine rebounds along with two assists and two steals.

Kelden Pruitt added 14 points and seven boards while Jon Hatcher had 13 points and Caleb Banks finished with 10 points and seven assists. Reagan Keogh matched Underwood's team lead with nine boards.

NEXT GAME
The Comets (10-6, 6-3 ASC) will take a quick break from ASC East play Monday with they visit Concordia Texas in a crossover contest. Game time is 7:30 p.m. in Austin.