SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College men's basketball team took a 50-32 lead into halftime and never looked back, topping the University of Dallas 77-66 on Friday night in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos are now 6-9 overall and 2-2 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
The 'Roos came roaring out of the gate behind early three pointers from Jeremy Swisher and Austin Wells to grab a 10-4 lead, and treys from Brian Baehl and Josh Dickerman helped boost the lead to 18-8 with 12:37 left in the opening half. Dallas battled back to pull to within five at 25-20 on a Michael Sarrat three pointer with 8:29 left before halftime, but JP Feider and Wells would combine for all 12 points in a 12-0 run to put Austin College ahead 37-20 with 5:58 on the clock.
A three from Josh Quinn and a basket by Justin Wade gave Austin College its largest lead of the game at 48-24 with 2:21 remaining, but Dallas would get threes from Darrius Colvin and Sarrat in the final 22 seconds of the first half to make it a 50-32 game heading into the break. The 'Roos shot 57.6% from the field and 54.5% from long distance in the game's first 20 minutes.
Austin College extended the lead to 56-34 on a layup by Swisher with 16:47 on the clock, and a three from Wells made it a 67-45 game with under 10 minutes left to play. After a pair of free throws from Swisher to make it 71-50, the Crusaders would begin to chip away at the deficit, scoring eight unanswered to pull to within 13 at 71-58 with 3:26 remaining.
After a jumper by Baehl, Dallas knocked down four straight free throws to trim it to a 73-62 game but that's as close as things would get. Wade scored in the paint and Wells made two late free throws, and Dallas was unable to get the margin into single digits in the closing moments.
Baehl and Wells led a balanced scoring attack with 13 apiece, and Baehl added four assists while Wells hit 3-of-6 three pointers. Swisher added 11 points and three assists, and Feider finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Wade came up just short of a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing nine rebounds for the 'Roos.
Sarrat led all scorers with 19 points, hitting 6-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-2 from long range and 5-of-5 free throw attempts. Colvin added 17 points and five rebounds as the only other Dallas player to reach double figures.
Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.