KERRVILLE, Texas - The Southwestern University men's basketball team fell short to the Schreiner Mountaineers on Friday evening by the score of 74-65 thanks to a big second half by the Mountaineers at the Stephens Family Arena.
It was a tough shooting night for the Pirates, going 23 of 66 (35%) from the field, 9 of 35 (26%) from deep, and 10 of 20 (50%) at the free throw line. On the other end, the Mountaineers shot well, going 29 of 54 (54%) from the field, 7 of 19 (37%) from deep, and 9 of 15 (60%) from the free throw line.
Southwestern won the rebounding battle 41-36, but Schreiner had 36 points in the paint to Southwestern's 18. Both teams had 20 rebounds while the Mountaineers held a 28-17 advantage in bench points.
After falling behind 20-12 in the early goings of the first half, Southwestern used a 10-0 run including seven points from sophomore Kyle Howard to pull ahead for the first time, 22-20, with 7:15 to play in the half. The run eventually turned into a 16-1 run as Southwestern took their biggest lead of the game at 28-23.
Schreiner battled back to even the score and outscored the Pirates 11-5 in the final four minutes to take a 34-33 lead into the break.
The Mountaineers opened the second half on a 15-5 run to move the lead out to double digits at 49-38. Southwestern chipped away at the deficit as back-to-back 3-pointers from Howard made it a six point game at 53-47.
The Pirates got it down to five at 55-50 with eight minutes to go, but Schreiner went on a 9-0 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 64-50. A quick 8-0 run got Southwestern back to within six, but it would be as close as they would get in the waining minutes as Schreiner pushed their lead back to double digits and held on for the 74-65 win.
Howard scored a career-high 21 points on 8 of 13 shooting including four 3-pointers, four rebounds, and five steals. Sophomore Brandon Alexander pitched in 13 points and five boards to go with three steals while sophomore Joel Martinez scored 11 points off the bench and a pair of steals.
Sophomore Jake Holmes had five points, 10 rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block while sophomore Ryan Wheeler scored nine and had six boards.
For Schreiner, Keenan Gumbs finished with 22 points and eight rebounds while Blake Kelley added 16 points and two steals.
Southwestern's recent struggles continue as they fall to 8-13 overall and 4-6 in SCAC play, losing their last four contests. The race for a place in the SCAC Tournament intensifies beginning tomorrow afternoon as the Pirates will take on Trinity at 4 PM in San Antonio.
