RICHARDSON, TX (03.06.20) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team led wire-to-wire but had to battle to the final possession as the Comets earned a hard-fought 83-81 victory over Centenary College Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball National Championship, played at the UTD Activity Center.

The Comets (now 22-6) will square off with Whitworth University at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the second round with a spot in the NCAA D-III "Sweet 16" on the line. UTD will be looking for its fourth-ever trip to the third round of the national tournament.

Senior Hans Burwitz would record just the fourth 'triple-double' in Comet history as he closed the victory with 13 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. Burwitz was one of five Comet to top double-digit scoring in on the night. In addition, Burwitz has now tied the American Southwest Conference single-season record for 'double-doubles" with his 18th such performance this season.

The Comets exploded out of the gate to start the opening-round match up with Centenary, grabbing a 14-point lead, 20-6, less than three minutes into the contest. UTD opened the game 8-for-10 from the floor to seemingly set the top for a lop-sided victory, but the Gents (now 18-10) found their range from three-point late in the half to climb back within a single point, 44-43, at intermission.

The two teams combined for 18 three-pointers in the opening half. The Comets were 8-for-15 (53.3%) from long range, doing most of their damage early in the game, while Centenary hit 10-of-16 treys (62.5%), slowly clawing back late. 

UTD would use another surge to start the second half to take back control of the contest, extending its lead back to double-digits, 57-46, on a Xavier Ferrell breakaway lay up with 15:43 left to play. However, the Gents would not go away quietly as they would get back within a field goal, 64-61, near the midway point of the second half. Centenary would later cut the Comet lead to a single point again on three occasions over the next two minutes. With 8:05 remaining, Ralph Johnson would drained a jumper to cut the UTD lead to just 70-69, setting up a dramatic end of the contest.

After a media timeout, the Comets would scored five straight points, getting a three-pointer from Kelden Pruitt and a jumper from Jalen Weber to pull back ahead by six points, 75-69, with 6:26 left. But again, the Gents trimmed the lead back to a single point two minutes later and again with just 1:24 on the clock, 81-80, on a Johnson jump shot.

Burwitz would secure his 'triple-double" with an assist on the Comets' next possession on a inside feed on a Michael Forster dunk with just over a minute left to play, giving UTD an 83-80 lead. After a Comet foul, Centenary's Ty Price missed the second of two free throws on the Gents' next possession, but Centenary would be able to get off two more shots in the final seconds thanks to solid rebounding. Burwitz would secure the board after the Gents' second attempt after the missed free throw and find Weber found an outlet to force a Centenary foul. However, Weber missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Gents one more chance for a game-winner. Centenary's leading scorer on the season Cedric Harris' three-pointer to win the game fell short as time expired.

Pruitt led the five Comets in double figures with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Weber added 17 points, Ferrell 15 and Forster 11.  UTD shot 55.9 percent (33-of-59) for the game, hitting 10-of-22 three-pointers (45.5%), and were 7-of-10 (70%) from the free-throw line.

Harris led the Gents with 26 points, hitting seven three-pointers, in the losing effort.

The last time the Comets advanced out of the opening round of the NCAA D-III National Championship was at the end of the 2013-14 season when UTD ousted Whitworth in overtime to advance to the "Sweet 16".