SEGUIN, Texas - The Southwestern Pirates took a 60-58 with 7:58 to play in part of a 13-2 run as the Pirates were looking to remain unbeaten on the road in conference play; however, the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs closed the game on a 20-8 run to pull away and earn a 78-68 on Tuesday afternoon.
Southwestern shot 26 of 55 (47%) from the field including 12 of 15 (80%) at the line. Texas Lutheran was 25 of 57 (47%) from the field and 9 of 12 (75%) from the charity stripe. The big difference was 3-point shooting, as the Pirates went 4 of 16 (25%) while the Bulldogs were 15 of 28 (54%).
TLU held a slight 33-29 advantage in rebounds while both teams did a tremendous job of taking care of the basketball, both finishing with season-low in turnovers at eight. Southwestern domianted points in the paint at 32-12 and had a 17-9 advantage in bench points.
It was a back-and-forth first half, one that Texas Lutheran for nearly all of, but never by more than six points. Both teams shot over 50% from the field including 53% from the Pirates. TLU connected on eight 3-pointers including one at the buzzer for the 39-36 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs maintained their lead throughout the second half, building it out ot nine at 56-47. However, just as it seemed TLU was ready to put the game out of reach, Southwestern responded with a 13- 2 run thanks in part to five points from sophomore Mike May for the 60-58 lead.
Southwestern just did not have enough to finish the game off on this evening, as Texas Lutheran tied it and then used back-to-back 3-pointers to take the lead for good and pull away at the free throw line for the home victory.
Sophomore Brandon Alexander scored 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting to go with six rebounds while sophomore Kyle Howard added 14 points. Sophomore Luke Hicks added eight points and three assists.
For Texas Lutheran, Nathan Josephs had a monster night, scoring 32 points incluidng six 3-pointers and five assists while Sebastian Andrade and Jacob Kouremetis each added 15 points.
Southwestern falls to 8-12 overall and 4-5 in SCAC play, dropping three in a row. They will look to regroup on the road on Friday as they head to Kerrville, Texas for a 5:30 PM matchup against Schreiner.