Box Score
Photo Gallery
Belton, TX – The of Texas at Dallas Comets opened defense of their American Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Championship with an 82-65 victory over Sul Ross State in the opening game of the ASC Tournament Friday in Belton. The Comets improve to 22-4 overall with the win. The loss ends the Lobos season at 9-17.
The Comets opened the game with an 11-2 and built a 23-point lead in the first half before settling for a 41-23 halftime lead. Sul Ross State battled back and cut the lead to 13 points early in the second half and the Lobos would not go away. The Comets would push the lead back to 20 points on several occasions in the second half but Sul Ross State kept chipping away. UTD was able to finally pull away late for the victory.
Jared Fleming topped the Comets with 20 points and he hit 4-7 from three-point range. Jimmy Witten added 18 points and Curtis Davis also reached double figures with 15 points for UTD. Steven Johunkin topped Sul Ross State with 16 points and he also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. Andy Hulsey added 14 points and Travis Johnson also reached double figures with 11 points.
UTD shot 47 per cent from the field and held the Lobos to 39 per cent shooting. The Lobos also hit just 24 per cent from three-point range while the Comets shot 26 per cent from beyond the arc.
U.T.-Dallas will now advance to tomorrow's semifinals at 2:00 PM. The Comets will face East Texas Baptist after the Tigers topped McMurry 85-77 in the first round.
