PASADENA, Calif. - The University of Dallas men's basketball team (1-4) was defeated 72-65 by Occidental College (2-2) on Saturday evening in a neutral-site affair at the Calif. Institute of Technology's Braun Athletic Center to open the CalTech/Occidental Thanksgiving Classic.
The first-half started well for the Crusaders, as 6-foot-5 junior forward Tanner Bruffey (Lubbock, Texas/Home School) recorded the game's first points, with a made 3-pointer at the 19:14 mark.
Recording Dallas' first six points on two made 3-pointers, Bruffey registered 10 points in the first-half. He finished with 17 points for the game on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-7 effort from beyond the arc. Bruffey went 2-of-3 from the free-throw line, while totaling six rebounds (one offensive) and one block in 25-minutes of action.
Occidental took over the lead at the 13:04-mark of the first half, thanks to a Ryan Chong 3-point bucket, and maintained a lead for nearly the next 9:30.
A man on a mission, 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Joe Stephens (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound H.S.) leveled the score at 30-30 with 3:47 remaining in the initial period. Stephens scored nine-points in a span of 2:12 for the Crusaders, which included two succesful "And One" conversions.
Stephens accumulated 14 of his game-high 29-points in the first half. For the game, he shot 11-of-17 from the field, 1-of-4 from 3-point range, and netted 6-of-7 free-throw attempts. His six rebounds (one offensive) rendered him tied for the team-high in the category with Bruffey, and he also tallied two blocks in 36-minutes of play.
The score entering halftime was 35-30 in favor of Dallas. The Crusaders in the first-half shot 50-percent (13-of-26) from the field, including 45.5-percent (5-of-11) from distance. Meanwhile, Occidental was held to 34.3-percent (12-of-35) shooting from the field, going 44.4-percent (4-of-9) from 3-point land in the opening half.
Occidental had a spring to their step to begin the second half. The Tigers outscored Dallas 10-4 just 2:53 into the final period, knotting the score at 40-40 in a game with six occurences of a tied score and nine different lead changes.
The Tigers snatched the lead for good at the 15:35-mark of the second half. Dallas threatened Occidental several times before the final buzzer sounded, but the Crusaders could never get closer than two-points from evening the score. Occidental increased their lead to a game-high 10-points with 1:58 to go, and eventually won by seven points, 72-65.
After holding a 21-15 advantage in the rebounding department, Dallas was out-rebounded 21-10 in the second half, allowing five offensive-rebounds in the process.
Battling some inconsistencies, the Crusaders were limited to 37.9-percent (11-of-29) shooting from the field in the second half, netting just 22.2-percent (2-of-9) from beyond the arc. Their nemesis Tigers sank 64-percent (16-of-25) of their shots from the field in the second half, attempting no 3-point attempts.
Trips to the free-throw line also proved a key-stat down the stretch, as Occidental made 10-of-15 and Dallas 6-of-9.
Next opponent:
Dallas will look to get off a three-game losing skid, as the Crusaders battle the Calif. Institute of Technology on Sunday, Nov. 27, at 2 p.m. (PST). In consecutive neutral-site contests, the game will take place in Los Angeles at Occidental College.
