University of Texas at Dallas

Though the heartbreak of their overtime loss in the "Elite 8" round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament is still fresh on their minds, the UTD Comets will eventually be able to reflect back on the historic significance of their 2008-09 championship season.

It was a year of firsts for the Comets, who won more than 20 games, advanced past the opening round of the NCAA playoffs, and came within an eyelash of the "Final Four" for the first time ever in the 11-year history of the program.

Oh, and don't forget a hard-earned, but well-deserved American Southwest Conference championship, the second in team history.

The 2008-09 UTD Comets achieved more than they ever could have imagined when they first hit the court last fall. The experience-laden Comets came charging out of the gate with nine straight wins, then led the ASC East Division race most of the way despite a couple of mid-season slip-ups.

The resiliancy of the team shown greatest at the end of the regular season when UTD was in danger of seeing a late two-game lead in the East Division standings slip away. The Comets needed a road win in their final game of the regular season at LeTourneau (who they had barely edged 60-59 earlier in the year) and came up big with a 66-59 victory, clinching the team's first outright East Division title ever.

With the East Division title came the right to host the 2009 ASC Championship Tournament, and the Comets made the "home court advantage" stand up with three straight wins to claim the crown. UTD had to fight off Mary Hardin-Baylor, one of the league's hottest teams late in the year, 65-60, in the semifinals, then played perhaps on of their most complete games of the season in the championship game against East Division rival Mississippi College to win 85-72.

The national attention the Comets had received throughout the year (earning rankings  as high as No. 18 in national polls) paid off at NCAA Tournament time. UTD was one of just four teams nationally to get a first-round bye in the tournament, but had to face longtime rival Trinity University in San Antonio in the second round. The Comets clamped down on the Tigers and walked into the sectional "Sweet 16" round with a 70-54 victory.

UTD travelled to Cleveland, OH for the sectional round and had to face 13th-ranked Capital University, which was located just 140 from the tournament site. A hostile crowd and a talented, sharp-shooting Crusader lineup, however, couldn't match up against the Comet defense, which helped spark a 71-63 victory and a chance to play for the trip to "Final Four."

The Comet defense again looked to have the team in a position to win against Guilford College, a team UTD had defeated earlier in the year. But Guilford's defense was even better, holding UTD to just five points in the game's final 5:27 while the Quakers inched their way back from a 12-point deficit and sent the game to overtime with an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer. UTD eventually fell 64-59.

The 2008-09 Comets were a true "team," a squad without any one particular superstar, and a team where any member could come up big on any particular night. Senior point guard Temaine Wright led the team with just a 12.1 ppg scoring average and was the team's second-leading rebounder at 5.3 per game. Five other players – including fellow senior Ernie Lowery, juniors Jordan Eppink, Brandon Greene and Scott Rodgers, and sophomore Jimmy Witten – averaged between 8.3-10.6 points per game. Chris Barnes, Jared Fleming and Charles Harris gave quality minutes off the bench along with others.

Defense was the name of the game for UTD as the Comets held opponents to just a .402 shooting percentage from the field,  and less than 60 points per game over the 31-game season. The Comets held opponents to 64 or fewer points in 12 of their final 14 games, had 267 steals on the season and forced 531 opponent turnovers.