The University of Dallas men’s basketball squad now holds a 9-8 record after losing two straight home games this past weekend. The losses to conference rivals Texas Lutheran University (TLU) and Southwestern University (SU) put the Crusaders on a three game skid at the Maher Center.
Friday night against Texas Lutheran, UD took an 11 point lead early in the first half. Despite the Crusaders’ strong shooting, the visiting Bulldogs tied the game at 24 midway through the half. Dallas trailed 27-26 going into halftime after a 9-2 run from the Bulldogs.
TLU dominated the second half with three-point shooting, holding the Crusaders to 26 points in the second half. The Bulldogs ended the night shooting 50 percent from three-point range.
UD’s 20 points off of turnovers and 34 points in the paint could not secure the win, and the Crusaders fell 68-52.
Freshman forward Spencer Levi led the home team in points (14) and rebounds (10), earning his tenth double-double of the campaign. Junior guard Darrius Colvin scored 11 points and added 3 assists, while senior guard Manny Calton notched 6 points with 2 assists and 3 steals.
“We need to work on starting the second half better; we always come out of halftime flat,” Calton said. “When we get leads we need to improve on maintaining when the other team goes on runs.”
Sunday afternoon featured the second home loss of the weekend for the Crusaders, falling to the Pirates of Southwestern University by a score of 95-88.
Trailing at halftime 49-35, the Crusaders came into the new half with an impressive comeback effort. Despite outscoring Southwestern 53-46 in the second half, the Pirates held on for the victory.
Colvin led the scoring for Dallas with 27 points and 5 assists.
Levi earned another double-double against Southwestern with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Freshman guards Joshua Nunn and Michael Wambsganss each scored 11 points off the bench.
“Southwestern got off to a great start with their shooting,” head coach Jarred Samples said. “It put us in a hole. Our guys fought hard to battle back. We played well in the second half. Unfortunately, it was too much to overcome.”
UD now holds a 3-4 record against Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) opponents this season. The Crusaders head out on a five game road trip beginning with Texas Lutheran University on Jan. 26, and return home Feb. 9 for a conference match against Trinity University tipping off at 5:30 p.m.
