BROWNWOOD, TX (01.02.21) - Playing just its second game of the season, the UT Dallas men's basketball team kick-started 2021 with an 82-72 road win over Howard Payne Saturday afternoon in non-conference play.

Dimitrius Underwood recorded his second straight 'triple-double' to open the season as he finished the double-digit victory with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, all game highs. Underwood led four Comets in double figures in the win as Michael Forster added 13 points, Kelden Pruitt 12 points and Hunter Stevens 11 points.

The Comets (2-0) jumped out to an early advantage as they controlled most of the opening half, leading by as many as 13 points on three occasions in the period before host HPU rallied late in the half to cut its deficit to just one point, 40-39, at the intermission.

Leading 22-9 with 9:57 left in the first, the Comets watched HPU slowly chip away at their lead before eventually snagging a one-point cushion, 39-38, with 27 seconds left in the half on a lay up by Reese Ridder. However, UTD climbed back on top at the buzzer on a Pruitt bucket after a key Will Isaac rebound.

The host Yellow Jackets (0-7) regained a lead, 42-40, early in the second half with a three-pointer by Ridder before UTD rolled off 10 straight points over the next four minutes to regain control of the contest. 

The Comets pushed their lead back to double figures at the 5:59 mark when a Stevens' lay up gave UTD a 71-60 cushion. HPU would not cut the lead to less than six points for the remainder of the afternoon.

Underwood took over second place all-time outright in the American Southwest Conference with the fourth 'triple-double' of his career and became the first-ever ASC player to record more than one such performance in multiple seasons. Underwood's first two 'triple-doubles' came during the 2017-18 campaign. Former LeTourneau All-American Nate West holds the ASC record for career 'triple-doubles' at five, a league-record three during the 2019-20 season.

The Comets will open ASC play Thursday night as they host Mary Hardin-Baylor in clash the league's preseason divisional favorites. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. at the UTD Activity Center.