RICHARDSON, TX (02.24.21) - The UT Dallas men's basketball team got off to a quick start but had to play to the final horn as the Comets battled for a 79-75 home win over Ozarks Wednesday night in American Southwest Conference East Division play.

With three games left in the regular season, the Comets (now 7-3, 5-3 ASC) climbed into second place in the competitive ASC East with their sights still set on a third-straight divisional crown. UTD will play this same opponent Saturday afternoon in Clarksville, Ark., to wrap up the season series with the Eagles.

The Comets rolled out to a 10-0 lead by the first media timeout but shooting struggles late in the opening half kept the game in reach for Ozarks. The Eagles clawed back within a point, 14-13, with 7:22 left before the break but would not take the lead. The Comets would close the first half on a 13-7 run to snag an eight-point lead, 32-24, at intermission.

UTD regained a double-digit lead on its first possession of the second half when Kameron Pruitt drained a three-pointer to give the Comets a 35-24 advantage. The Comets then extended their lead to as many as 15 points with just under seven minutes to play before Ozarks forced drama late in the contest.

With the Comets leading 61-46 with 6:50 left to play, Ozarks used a 17-5 over the next three minutes to draw back within a single possession, 66-63, after a Bryson Johnson trey with 3:04 remaining. Dimitrius Underwood drained two free throws to extend UTD's lead back to five points before Zach Byrd drained a three-pointer from the right corner to cut the lead to just two points with 2:15 on the clock.

After the two teams traded buckets, the Comets used an Underwood lay up along with two Dylan Miles free throws to pull back ahead by six points, 74-68, in the final minute. Johnson, who finished the night with a game-high 37 points, used a three-point play to cut the deficit in half, but Underwood hit two ensuing free throws for the Comets to return the lead to two possessions. Miles then made two free throws with 13 seconds on the clock to secure the victory as the Eagles could not get closer than four points from that point forward.

Underwood led the Comets with 34 points, one shy of his career best, going 19-of-22 from the free-throw line. He added 11 rebounds for his program-record-tying 34th career 'double-double'. Miles came off the bench for 12 points while Kelden Pruitt and Michael Forster each added 10 points. Kameron Pruitt matched Underwood's team-high with 11 rebounds of his own.

The Comets struggled from the field, shooting a season-low 33.3 percent from the floor on the night, and hit just 7-of-23 three-points. However, UTD was 30-of-34 (88.2%) from the charity stripe to hold off the Eagles.