'Roo Men Fall Short Against Hendrix

SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College men's basketball team pulled to within six points late but were unable to close the gap against visiting Hendrix College, falling 76-69 on Saturday afternoon in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos fall to 2-4 overall with the loss.

Hendrix got out to a quick start, going ahead 7-0 behind five points from Luke Vance. Austin College used a 10-3 run to pull even, with Brian Baehl's jumper squaring things with just over 15 minutes left in the opening half. Hendrix responded with a 10-2 run capped off by a three from Drew Nikolovski to make it 20-12 at the 12:31 mark, but Austin College started chipping away and Alan Sullivan's basket with nine minutes left made it 23-18.

Hendrix pushed the lead to double figures after scoring the next five points, and after Baehl scored four in a row, the Warriors made it a 34-25 game with 2:32. Jeremy Swisher knocked down a three and then hit one of two free throws to send Austin College into the half trailing 36-29. Austin College left some points at the free throw line in the opening frame, hitting just 4-of-11 attempts.

Austin College came out strong in the second half, with threes from Baehl and Andres Rivera pulling Austin College to within four at 39-35 but the Warriors would go on a 12-0 run to take a 51-35 lead with 13:07 left in the game. The Warriors would take their biggest lead of the game at 60-43 with 9:01 left to play, but Austin Freet knocked down a three pointer and followed that up with a breakaway dunk to spark a 7-0 run that pulled Austin College to within 10 at 60-50.

A basket by Hendrix's Jordan Barrett put the Warriors up 66-52 with 5:46 to play but Baehl scored four quick points and Sullivan drilled a three to get the margin down to seven as the 'Roos made it a 66-59 game with 3:43 left. Freet's three pointer with just under a minute left made it a 73-67 game, but the 'Roos were unable to pull any closer despite the Warriors missing four straight free throws over the next 15 second stretch.

Baehl hit 8-of-15 shots on his way to 22 points and added five rebounds, and Freet had 18 points, four boards, three assists, and two blocks. Ryan Reibly grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for Austin College in the loss.

Vance led the Warriors with 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Barrett finished with 14 points. Hank Aldous grabbed 12 boards and handed out five assists for Hendrix, which owned a 51-32 advantage on the glass.

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.