Box Score
Belton, TX— John Derr's three-pointer with 53 seconds remaining gave Hardin-Simmons a one-point lead and the Cowboys defense made it stand up in the final seconds for a 64-63 victory over U.T.-Dallas in the semifinals of the American Southwest Conference Tournament Saturday in Belton. HSU improves to 21-6 on the season with the victory. The Comets fall to 22-5 on the year with the loss.
UTD led by as many as six points early in the second half, but HSU fought back to take a 58-54 lead with 4:12 remaining. The Comets tied the game at 58 on a pair of Matthew Medell free throws with 3:00 to go. Matt Addison and Kyle Schleigh then traded three's to make it 61-61 with 2:13 left to play. Carter Nash hit a jumper with 1:17 to go to put UTD up 63-61 before Derr buried his three from the far corner to put the Cowboys up 64-63. The Comets missed a shot with 17 seconds left and were forced to foul. Addison missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving UTD one last chance. Schleigh's three was off the mark under heavy pressure as the buzzer sounded. UTD led 33-29 at halftime after holding the Cowboys to 33 percent shooting in the first half.
Addison led HSU with 20 points and he added four rebounds and four assists. Derr finished with 13 points and Andy Spears added 12 for the Cowboys. HSU shot 55 percent in the second half and went 6-9 from three-point range in the second.
Schleigh led the Comets with 20 points and he added 10 rebounds. Nash had 18 points and 10 boards and Chris Barnes added 10 points, but was limited to 24 minutes due to foul trouble. UTD shot 40 percent from the field and went just 5-18 from beyond the arc.
The Cowboys will now advance to Sunday's Championship Game to face the UMHB-McMurry winner at 2:00 PM. HSU is in the ASC Championship Game for the first time since 2007. UTD was making its ninth straight ASC Tournament appearance and will have to hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships when the field is announced on Monday.
