IRVING, Texas – Five Pirates scored in double figures to lead the Southwestern University Pirates men's basketball team over the University of Dallas Crusaders in a 90-79 victory.
Southwestern was paced by the hyper efficient play of its starting backcourt of Kyle Howard and Luke Hicks, who each scored 15 points on a combined 10-for-14 shooting.
The Pirates were anchored by their frontcourt in the first half, getting nine points and eight rebounds from forward Brandon Alexander and eight points on five shots from reserve center Trenton Garrett to give the Pirates a 37-33 lead at the break.
Howard took over the game in the second half, scoring all 15 of his points on eight shots and hitting all five of his free-throw attempts after being held without a single shot attempt in the first. Hicks scored nine points on 3-for-3 shooting, hitting both 3-pointers and 1-for-2 after the break.
The duo helped the Pirates shoot 62.1 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes while Garrett hit all three of his second-half shots to finish with 15 points and seven rebounds for the game. Alexander closed the game with 13 points and nine rebounds on 5-for-11 shooting. Calvin Williams added 10 points and four assists off the bench.
Southwestern shot 48.4 percent overall, hitting 30-for-62, including 6-for-16 from deep (37.5 percent) and assisting on 14 of their 30 made field goals.
Dallas was led by Jai Love, who scored 17 points with five assists but shot just 3-for-12 from the field, doing most of his damage from the free-throw line, where he shot 10-for-11. Dustin Mathis had 16 points and four assists while Letrell Toussaint and Cameran Hyde had 12 each off the bench.
The Crusaders shot 40.7 percent overall, turning the ball over 15 times and giving up 19 second-chance points.
With the win, the Pirates improve to 10-13 on the season and 6-10 in conference play. Southwestern will wrap up the regular season with a pair of home games, hosting Colorado College on Friday, Feb. 21 at 5:30 p.m. and a senior day game against Johnson & Wales University Denver on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 4:00 p.m.
