GEORGETOWN, Texas – Rebounding cost the Pirates as they returned to conference play on Friday night, falling 73-59 to Schreiner University.

Schreiner scored the first five points of the game and pushed their lead to ten, 29-19, after Maverick Harris' three-pointer with 5:28 to go in the first half.

Michael Cantu's steal and assist on Eric Garza's layup in transition kicked off a run that brought the Pirates within five, 29-24, with three minutes to play in the half, but Schreiner made up the lost ground in the final 1:52 to push their lead back to ten by halftime, 34-24.

The Pirates were outrebounded 20-11 in the first frame and allowed the Mountaineers five second-chance points. Schreiner shot 46% from the floor and 55% from three point range while Southwestern managed just 34.8% from the floor and 20% from beyond the arc.

Schreiner continued the dominance of the boards in the second half and steadily grew their lead to 15, 53-38, at the halfway point of the second half.

By attacking the rim offensively and stepping up their rebounding efforts, the Pirates cut the lead to 10, 53-43 with 8:28 on the clock.

Southwestern couldn't break the ten point barrier as Schreiner stayed at an arm's length the rest of the way.

The Pirates, led by Blake Scott's 16 points, were held to 34% from the floor and 26.3% from three point range while Schreiner shot just under 50% from both distances. Sean Myers and Eric Garza each added 10 points as Schreiner's AJ Myres led all scorers with 22 points in 26 minutes.  

Southwestern also lost the battle of the boards, trailing 45-26 for the game.

The Pirates fall to 3-9 on the year and 0-2 in the SCAC while Schreiner remains unbeaten in conference play at 2-0, 6-7 overall. SU remains at home to face Texas Lutheran University on Saturday at 4 p.m.