February 6, 2024

IRVING, Texas - The University of Dallas men's basketball team won their non-conference game against Belhaven University 75-73 on Tuesday, improving to 10-13 overall on the season.

Though this contest was treated as a tune-up by both sides, with lots of rotation in from the benches, it was still a hotly contested game. 

It was a tale of two very different sides, as Belhaven quickly established dominance in the paint with their towering bigs.  The two teams were nearly even on rebounds and blocks at the end of the game, but the Blazers nearly doubled Dallas' production in the paint, outscoring the Crusaders 46-24.  

They were quite efficient as a result, shooting 51% (27-of-53) from two-point range.

Dallas, meanwhile, were lights-out from beyond the arc all game, putting together their best performance of the season by going 12-of-25 (48%) from deep.  Kelton Coleman (pictured) and Zac Olmsted were the sharpshooters of the evening.  Coleman was a perfect 3-of-3 from deep with a team-leading 17 points, and Olmsted was 4-of-5 from three with 16 points, the third best tally of his Crusaders career.

The game came down to the final seconds once again, though this time the ball fell in Dallas' favor.  With the game tied, Coleman drew a shooting foul with five seconds on the clock and sank both free throws to make it 75-73.  The Blazers managed to get down the court in time for a rebuttal and appeared to have tied the game on a second-chance dunk following the initial attempt, but video review showed that the shot was taken after the final buzzer.  The Crusaders breathed a collective sigh of relief that they weren't on the wrong end of a buzzer beater in consecutive games, and celebrated their 10th win of the season.

Up Next

The Crusaders will be on the road for their final two games of the season.  Next, they will face Austin College on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 3:00 pm.