IRVING, Texas — The Southwestern University Pirates men's basketball team suffered its first conference loss this season, falling to the University of Dallas 84-77 on the road.
Reigning SCAC Player of the Week Brandon Alexander was one of two Pirates in double figures, matching his career-high with 32 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 11-for-21 from the field, including 4-for-7 from deep. Andrew Puhl contributed 13 points and six rebounds.
The University of Dallas had a balanced attack with four players in double figures led by Michael Wambsganss' 24 points and 10 rebounds, hitting 9-for-16 from the field, including 5-for-10 from deep.
Southwestern started the game with a flurry of missed shots and turnovers, falling behind 11-3. For the half, the Pirates shot just 12-for-37 (32.4 percent), including 2-for-9 (22.2 percent from deep. Logan Fruhwirth paced Dallas early with 12 of his 15 points scored in the first half as Dallas shot 48.4 percent form the field to take a 39-29 lead at the break.
Alexander went off in the second half, shooting 8-for-12, including 4-for-5 from deep, after the break to score 26 of his 32 points. Wambsganss nearly matched him shot-for-shot, scoring 22 of his team-high 24 in the second half, shooting 8-for-11, including 5-for-7 from deep. Joshua Nunn helped push Dallas over the top, scoring 12 of his 14 in the half. Ben Norton finished with 14 points on seven shot off the bench.
Southwestern committed 16 turnovers, giving Dallas a 23-11 advantage in points off turnovers and 11-4 edge in fastbreak points.
With the loss, the Pirates drop to 8-7 on the season and 5-1 in conference. Dallas improved to 5-8 and 4-2 in conference play. Southwestern will host Texas Lutheran on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.