RICHARDSON, Texas - The UT Dallas men's basketball team nearly pulled off an upset of #8 West Texas A&M, falling 94-92 at the Activity Center Saturday afternoon.
The contest saw eight ties and 13 lead changes, with the biggest deficit of the game being eight points.
The Comets (0-9, 0-2 Lone Star Conference) built a 29-22 advantage to start the game, capped by a
Peyton Dulin three-pointer. The Buffaloes (10-0, 3-0 LSC) came back and took a 45-43 lead into halftime.
A Dulin pull-up jumper put UTD up 69-64 with 9:26 remaining. WT went on a 21-8 run over the next four minutes, gaining an 85-77 advantage.
Trailing 87-79 with 3:17 to play, the Comets scored seven straight points on a pair of three-pointers by
Jaden Jefferson, sandwiched around a
Jordan Balderaz fastbreak layup to make it 87-86 with 2:00 minutes on the clock.
A pair of Zach Brown free throws with 13 seconds left gave the Buffaloes a 93-90 lead.
Hudson Goellner scored on a put back after a missed three-pointer with 3.5 seconds remaining to make it 93-92. Jailyn Sledge made one of his two free throws with 2.5 seconds left to give West Texas the victory.Â
For the game, UTD shot a season-best 51.4 percent (36-of-70) from the field, 8-of-24 from outside and 12-of-18 at the line. They also recorded 41 rebounds, 23 assists, 17 turnovers, six blocks and six steals.
WT shot 48.3 percent (29-of-60) overall, 9-of-26 from three-point range and 27-of-32 at the free throw line with 24 rebounds, 22 assists, 10 turnovers, four blocks and 10 steals.
UT Dallas Performances
- Jefferson led all players with 31 points to go with eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals. He had the 35th 31-point or more performance in school history.
- Balderaz scored a career-best 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting. He also pulled down nine boards.
- Dulin finished with 12 points and seven assists.
- Goellner recorded six points and six rebounds.
West Texas A&M Performances
- Fontaine Williams scored 26 points and dished out seven assists. Hew as 12-of-15 from the charity stripe.
- Brown netted 18 points off the bench, going 4-for-5 from outside and 6-for-6 at the line.Â
- Sledge finished with 15 points.
- Brock Mishak added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
- Brendan Ballard had 10 points, four assists, four blocks and four steals.
Up Next
The Comets will go to Alpine, Texas to face Sul Ross State on Thursday, December 18.Â
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