GEORGETOWN, Texas — The Southwestern men's basketball team went cold down the stretch of its game against the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs, surrendering a double-digit lead late in a 66-59 loss. 

In the first half, Southwestern opened the game with a stifling defensive performance, limiting Texas Lutheran to 8-for-31 shooting (25.8 percent) and only six free-throw attempts. 

On the other end, Kyle Poerschke and Preston Hannah dissected the Texas Lutheran defense, combining for 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Starting for the first time this season at center, Zac Black added six points on five shots and grabbed four rebounds in the first half. Four other Pirates scored two points, with Southwestern shooting 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) at the break to take a 30-26 lead. 

It was a balanced attack with multiple contributors, but not necessarily a connected one, assisting on just three of the Pirates' 13 made field goals. 

Southwestern continued its strong play in the second half, opening a 10-point lead at 49-39 on a Black layup off a Hannah feed with 9:33 remaining. The Pirates held the Bulldogs at bay over the next few minutes and seemed in control when they extended the lead to 12 on another Black layup with 6:22 remaining. 

Over the next few minutes, the shots the Pirates created for themselves started to rim out, and Southwestern went scoreless for almost three minutes, missing two shots and turning the ball over twice. Southwestern was outscored 25-6 over the final six minutes, surrendering the lead with under two minutes remaining. 

Black scored 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds in 25 minutes to lead the Pirates. Poerschke also had 14 points and six rebounds. Hannah added 12 on six shots, and Jacob Hester scored nine off the bench. 

Riley Fornerette led Texas Lutheran off the bench with 17 points on 10 shots, hitting 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point arc. Jamir Mason added 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, and Sebastian Andrade scored 10 points with nine rebounds. 

Texas Lutheran outscored Southwestern 30-6 at the 3-point line and 20-7 from the free-throw line, overcoming an 18-for-62 overall shooting performance. 

This season, Southwestern drops to 5-10 with a 2-4 conference record. The Pirates will host Dallas on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 4:00 p.m.