RICHARDSON, TX (12.29.19) - Sophomore Jeremiah Gibson came off the bench for a career-high 19 points as the UT Dallas men's basketball team wrapped up the 2019 UTD Classic with an 83-69 win over Blackburn College Sunday night.

Gibson, who missed last season due to injury, was perfect from the field in Sunday's win by the Comets, going 5-for-5 from three-point range and adding a 4-for-4 performance from the free-throw line in just 15 minutes of action.

After the squad's final non-conference game of the season, the Comets will now take a 7-3 overall record into American Southwest Conference play, resuming Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. road game at Concordia Texas Thursday night. The Comets opened the ASC slate with a 69-57 home win over travel partner Ozarks on Dec. 4.

The Comets started to pull away from Blackburn late in the first half and then widened its margin to as many as 25 points late in the contest before settling for the 14-point victory. Gibson was one of four Comets to reach double digits while starters Michael Forster and Hans Burwitz each recorded 'double-double' performances. Forster had 15 points and 13 rebounds while Burwitz finished with 12 points adn 12 boards. Starter Jalen Weber added 14 points and a career-high eight assists.

Holding a slim 22-18 advantage with just over seven minutes left in the opening period, the Comets soon found themselves with a double-digit cushion, as Burwitz capped a 9-0 run by the home team with a free throw to push the UTD lead to 13 points. UTD would close the first half outscoring the Beavers, 21-11, over the final seven minutes of the half to secure a 43-29 lead at the break.

Gibson would then score 16 of his 19 points in the second half as the Comets would eventually grab a 73-48 lead with just more than five minutes left to play before playing reserves for the remainder of the contest.

The Comets shot an impressive 50.8 percent (31-of-61) as a team from the field, connecting on 12-of-26 (46.2%) three-pointers. UTD dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Beavers, 47-30, and forced 15 turnovers.