'Roos Come Up Short in Upset Bid at No. 18 St. Thomas

HOUSTON, Texas - The Austin College men's basketball team had No. 18-ranked St. Thomas on the ropes in a road game with the Celts on Friday, but UST took its first lead of the second half with just over a minute remaining and would go on to top the 'Roos 67-62. The 'Roos are now 5-7 overall on the year.

St. Thomas raced out to an 11-0 lead in the opening minutes of action, but the 'Roos started to chip away at the lead and three triples from Nate Williams gave Austin College its first lead of the contest at 27-25 with 2:56 left before halftime. St. Thomas would square things up twice in the closing minutes of the half, but two free throws from Kidus Getenet and a last second bucket by Jason Jones Jr. sent Austin College into the locker room leading 35-30.

The Austin College lead grew to double digits early in the second half, as Jones converted a three-point-play to make it 44-32 with 15:37 left. An 11-2 run by UST cut the margin to 46-43 just over five and a half minutes later, but the 'Roos were able to hold their lead and make it a 60-55 game on a basket by Tristan Dick with 3:15 left to play. However, the Celts would use a 10-0 run to surge on top 65-60, and Austin College couldn't make up enough ground in the final moments of the game.

Dick led Austin College with 14 points and Jordan Hudgins came off the bench to score 11 points, grab eight rebounds, and dish out six assists. Williams finished the game hitting 3-of-5 threes, finishing with nine points. Zack Golaszewski led St. Thomas with 20 points, including what would prove to be the game-winning jumper with 1:04 left on the clock. 

Austin College is back in action on Saturday, when they head to Shreveport to face off against Centenary at 3:00 p.m.