Career Nights for Love, Toussaint not Enough; Austin College spoils comback with Buzzer-Beating Three
SHERMAN, Texas - The University of Dallas men's basketball team opened the 2020-21 season with a two game road trip to Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) rival Austin College. Dallas received career performances by juniors Jai Love (St. Louis, Mo.) and Letrell Toussaint (Waco, Texas), who made the go-ahead free throws for the guest's only time to lead all night with 2.7 seconds left.
However, Michael Holland drilled a game-winning three to lift the 'Roos to the season opener victory, 81-80.
Austin College scored first off a dunk by Tristan Dick. Dick's score started an early run for the 'Roos as they took an 11-2 lead within the first three minutes of the game.
Austin increased their lead to 20-6 on a basket by junior Jake Patin with 11:39 left in the half. This 14 point lead was the largest lead the 'Roos had in the game.
Dallas began to claw back as Love hit a three-pointer to make the score 20-9. This sparked a 14-2 run by the Crusaders that narrowed the deficit to 22-20.
The remaining 10:30 minutes the first half was played closely, but with a slight advantage to Austin College as the 'Roos outscored the Crusaders 19-16 to end the first half ahead 41-36.
Love led all players with 17 points scored at halftime on 5-8 shooting with 3-4 from the 3-point line and 4-5 from the foul line. Toussaint led all rebounders with eight boards and chipped in seven points.
The second half was back-and-forth, Dallas brought the deficit to within one possession several times before the 'Roos answered back to push the lead.
Dallas brought the game back to two possessions after freshman Louis Christifano Jr. (Overland Park, Kan.) hit a 3-pointer to narrow the margin to 71-65 with just under five minutes left.
Dallas continued to fight their way back and eventually tied the score with one minute left at 78-78 when Toussaint hit the back end of a pair of free throws.
With three seconds to go, Toussaint hit two more free throws to give the Crusaders their first lead of the game at 80-78. UD's lead would be short lived as Holland hit a three point shot at the buzzer to win the season opener for Austin College.
Love was the game-high scorer, scoring a career-high 28 points on 7-15 for field goals, 3-7 for three-pointers, and 11-15 from the foul line. Love also was the game leader in assists with five and also tallied three steals. Toussaint notched career-highs in both points, rebounds, and blocked shots as he had 19, 18, and four respectively. The forward was a monster on the offensive glass with 11 boards of that variety. Freshman Marcus Juarez (Clint, Texas) had a big debut performance for Dallas off the bench as he contributed 12 points, seven rebounds, two steals, one assist, and one blocked shot for the game.
Toussaint was three boards away from tying the single-game record (21) set by Andy Baker in 1989.
All five of Austin's starters scored in double figures for the game. Hogan was the team high scorer with 21 points, Holland scored 17, Dick scored 14, Cleamons scored 13, and Patin scored 10. Holland also led the team with nine rebounds, and Austin College as a team shot 43.5% from the floor for the game.
With the win Austin starts the season 1-0 and Dallas starts 0-1. The two SCAC teams will square up again on Saturday for a rematch in Sherman at 4 p.m.