Following a disappointing loss Friday night, the UTD Comets basketball team returned to action Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. at home versus the East Texas Baptist Tigers, winning by an impressive margin of 84–48 and improving its record to 12-7. This marks its ninth win in the last 11 games.
For the first 12 minutes of gameplay, the match was a tight contest. The Comets grabbed a five-point lead with 11:18 remaining in the period, following forward AJ Carter’s three-pointer. The Tigers would respond with a 10–2 run to take the lead at 20–17 with 8:49 left in the half, their largest of the game.
From here, the Comets completely took over the game. They would go on a 16–1 run over the next five minutes, punctuated by a midrange jumper from guard Peyton Dulin. The Comets would finish the half on a 21–7 run, commanding a strong 38–27 halftime lead.
In previous contests, the Comets have tended to loosen their grip on a team in the second half; this was not the case this time. The Comets scored the first eight points of the period, the start of another 16–1 run. Comets guard Matthew Soto almost singlehandedly put the game away by himself, scoring 13 points in the first nine minutes of the half, including three three-pointers.
In the final 10 minutes, the Comets never let the game get closer than a 23-point margin and led by as many as 36 points. The game was completely out of reach for the Tigers, allowing the Comets to use players who do not typically get a lot of minutes during the final five minutes. Comets guard Ryan Nurenberg took advantage, scoring eight points, including two three-pointers, in the final minutes of the game.
Soto led all scorers with 20 points on 7-9 shooting (77.8% accuracy) including 4-5 (80.0%) from behind the three-point arc and 2-2 from the free throw line (100.0% accuracy). Forward Zach Spitzer led the team with eight rebounds and five assists. Overall, the Comets shot 28-54 from the field (51.9% accuracy), 8-16 from three (50.0%) and 20-25 from the free throw line (80.0% accuracy). They recorded 48 rebounds, 20 assists to 14 turnovers, four blocks and six steals.
This game will be the Comets’ last home game for nearly a month. They will play four consecutive road games, starting with a trip to Abilene, Texas, where they played the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys on Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m.