RICHARDSON, TX (01.16.20) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team clamped down defensively in the second half as the Comets turned a five-point halftime lead into a 23-point victory, 82-59 over Louisiana College Thursday night in American Southwest Conference East Division play.
The Comets (now 11-4, 5-1 ASC) held LC to just 5-for-26 shooting (19.2%) over the final 20 minutes as they locked down their seventh win in eight games. The desperate Wildcats (now 9-5, 3-2 ASC) hit just 2-of-11 three-pointers in the second half after shooting better from 50 percent (8-of-15) from long-range before the break.
Senior
Hans Burwitz recorded his ASC-leading seventh 'double-double' of the season as he closed the win with a game-high 19 points along with 10 rebounds. Burwitz was a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, hitting just his fifth three-pointer of the year, while adding a season-high four assists. Junior
Michael Forster added a 'double-double' of his own, collecting 15 points and a game-best 13 rebounds as well as five assists and four steals. Fellow starters
Jalen Weber and
Kelden Pruitt added 17 points and 10 points, respectively, to round out the Comets in double figures.
After a back-and-forth start to the game, the host Comets used a 9-0 run late in the opening half to pull ahead, 34-25, and would secure their first double-digit lead of the night, 39-29, with 4:54 before the half on a
Jeremiah Gibson three-pointer. However, UTD would hold a slim five-point cushion, 48-43, at the intermission.
The Wildcats opened the second half by making their first two field goal attempts and would claw within three points, 50-47, on a pair of Kae'ron Baker free throws with just under 19 minutes to play. But the Comets would limit LC to 2-for-13 shooting over the next 12 minutes to eventually snag a 24-point lead, 75-51, after a Pruitt jumper with 7:43 remaining.
The Comets closed the game shooting 49.2 percent (30-of-61) from the field as a team, connecting on 8-of-22 three-pointers (36.4%), and were 14-of-21 (66.7%) from the foul line. UTD dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Wildcats, 47-30, and forced 15 LC turnovers.
UTD returns to action Saturday afternoon when the Comets host Belhaven in another ASC East contest. Tip-off is 3 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.
