RICHARDSON, TX (02.15.22) - After leading throughout the opening half, the UT Dallas men's basketball team went cold over the final 20 minutes as the Comets suffered an 80-77 ASC home loss to LeTourneau Tuesday night in the squad's home finale.

The Comets (14-8, 10-7 ASC) slipped to fifth place in the ASC standings after Tuesday's loss with just one game left in the regular season. UTD will play its final warm-up before the ASC Tournament Thursday night with a 7:30 p.m. game at last-place Ozarks in Clarksville, Ark.

UTD led by as many as 14 points late in the first half before the visiting YellowJackets (19-4, 14-4 ASC) began their rally with four minutes left before the break. Luke Kiser's steal and breakaway lay up with 4:23 left in the first pushed the Comets to their largest lead of the night, 35-21. LETU, however, closed the half on a 14-6 run to trim the Comet lead to 41-35 at intermission. 

The Comets extended their lead back to 11 points, 52-41, on a Kolton Pruitt three-pointer with 16:41 remaining before LETU made another surge. With the Comets struggling from the field over the next several minutes, the YellowJackets took their first led since early in the contest with 7:12 left on the clock, 64-62, on a Warren Richardson lay up. LETU would never relinquish the lead, pulling ahead by as many as nine points down the stretch.

With 12 seconds remaining, James Curtis would draw the Comets within a single bucket, 77-75, but LETU responded with two free throws on its next possession. Hunter Stevens raced down the court and brought UTD back within two points and had a chance to force overtime after a missed YellowJacket free throw with four ticks left. However, Stevens game-tying shot fell short.

Stevens matched a career-high with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting, hitting 3-of-4 three-pointers. Kiser added 16 points and Pruitt finished with 12 points. Curtis led all rebounders with 12 boards while Stevens dished out a game-high seven assists.