>>12.17.05
Sporadic Play Dooms Comets' Bid To
Upset West Leader Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mary Hardin-Baylor 76, UTD 61

RICHARDSON, TX - With 10:47 to play in Saturday's American Southwest Conference showdown with West Division leader University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, the UTD men's basketball team were right in the thick of it.

The Comets had just fought back from an 11-point deficit (52-41 at 15:21) with a 14-3 run to tie the score at 55-55, and set up what looked like a real battle over the game's final quarter of play against a team that was among the leaders in the ASC West Division.

But that's when the shots stopped falling and turnovers started mounting for the Comets, who fell to 2-7, 2-4, after UMHB ran away and left the Comets behind for a 76-61 win. Over the final 10:47 of the game, UTD would hit just one more shot from the floor, and none over the game's final 6:20.

Mike McKee's jumper with 6:20 to go temporarily cooled what turned into a 23-2 UMHB run over the next six minutes as the Crusaders went up, 73-57, with only 1:26 to go. The Comets' only other points came at the free throw line late as UTD's final six possessions ended in a missed shot and a Crusader rebound. In addition, the Comets' committed six late fouls, losing both Kersh Milson and Tyrone Hurt with the game on the line.

UTD had made a similar run early in the game, thanks primarily to Milson's early hot hand from beyond the three-point arch. The senior had 14 points at halftime after nailing four 3's as the Comets came back from an early 21-9 deficit to tie the score at 32-32 with 3:14 remaining in the first half.

UTD trailed at the half, 40-36, then fell back in a hole as the Crusaders opened the second period with a 12-5 run to gain their 52-41 advantage with 15:29 remaining.

The two teams combined for 20 three-pointers as UMHB's Brandon Gatlin nailed six to finish with a game-high 25 points. Inside force Patrick Oliver picked up 16 points. UTD was paced by Milson (16), Jay Swafford (12) and Travis Carruthers (12), but only Carruthers scored more than five of his points in the second half.

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