'Roo Men's Hoops Rolls in Season Opener

SHERMAN, Texas - The Austin College men's basketball team got 20 points and 12 rebounds from Jordan Hudgins in his collegiate debut as the 'Roos rolled past visiting Hendrix College 81-67 on Tuesday evening in Hughey Gym.

Austin College grabbed 22 offensive rebounds and forced 26 turnovers against the Warriors, negating a 50.9% shooting performance for Hendrix in the victory. The 'Roos got off 82 shot attempts compared to just 57 for Hendrix in the game, and outscored the Warriors 12-3 from the free throw line. The 'Roos dominated both second chance points and points off of turnovers, outpacing the Warriors 21-5 and 36-15 in the two categories, respectively.

Hendrix took a 4-1 lead early but the 'Roos went on top 10-7 on a three from Nate Williams with 13:33 left and never trailed again. The margin grew to 22-10 on a bucket by Hudgins, and after Hendrix scored five quick points, Austin College responded with six in a row to push it to a 28-15 game with 6:19 left before halftime. Tristan Dick's three pointer at the buzzer made it 46-29 at the break, and the Warriors never got the deficit lower than nine points the rest of the way.

Hudgins made 7-of-9 shots and 4-of-5 from the free throw line coming off the bench for Austin College, and added four assists, two blocked shots, and a pair of steals with just one turnover in the game. Austin College turned it over only 11 times as a team, while coming away with 13 steals in the victory. Jason Jones had four of those steals to go along with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting, pulling down three rebounds as well. Williams chipped in nine points and five boards, and Joshua Joe and Kidus Getenet each scored eight points. Chase Antosca pitched in seven points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals for the 'Roos.

Craig Collier led Hendrix with 13 points, while Tyler Deithloff had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors. Colten Berry added 10 boards for Hendrix, while Jackson Parks had nine points and four assists.