MARSHALL, Texas – A slow first half play led to East Texas Baptist University trying to claw their way back into the game as the University of Texas Dallas held off the Tigers, 75-69. ETBU was down 22 points in the first half before coming back to within four points in the second half. The Tigers are now 12-3 on the year and 6-2 in the ASC for men's basketball.
 
Aaron Gregg led the team with 20 points adding four assists. Kevin Charles then recorded 14 points and eight rebounds while Ryan Elzy added nine points and seven rebounds. Darry Moore and Michael Roberts both had nine points, too. UTD's Kyle Poerschke led all scorers with 25 points.
 
UTD had the steady shot in the game shooting 40 percent in both halves and finishing with seven three-pointers for 35 percent. They only made 66 percent of their free throws. After only shooting 29 percent in the first half, ETBU finished at 43 percent overall but made just 26 percent from the arc and 58 percent (14-of-24) from the line. They were also out rebounded by UTD, 46-39, and had 20 turnovers.
 
Only shooting 29 percent in the first half and making two three-pointers, ETBU fell behind early and had to work their way back into the game. UTD led from start to finish opening up with a 12-2 run in the first five minutes of the game. Gregg cut the lead to eight, 12-4, at 14:00 as ETBU was still only down eight, too, with 9:47 left, 19-11, on a Jayden Williams three-pointer. In the next six minutes, UTD went on a 17-4 run for a 21-point lead, 36-15. Their largest lead was 22 points, 36-14, with 3:48 left in the half. Roberts had a layup with 27 seconds left to put ETBU within 18 points at the half, 40-22.
 
ETBU went 17-of-31 in the second half (54 percent) to put themselves back in contention for the lead. UTD did move their lead to 23 points, 49-26, at the 17:17 mark. With 15:41 left in the game, UTD still had a 22-point lead, 53-31. The Tigers slowly chipped away at the lead over the next five minutes on a 16-0 run pulling to within eight, 55-47. Gregg made a three-pointer to come within 10, 55-45, at 11:24 and then Charles had a layup at 10:24 as ETBU had the lead down to eight. UTD responded on a 14-6 run over five minutes increasing their lead to 16, 69-53. With 38 seconds left in the game, UTD still had a double-digit lead at 73-60. ETBU would score nine points in 34 seconds on two three-pointers by Gregg and a three-point play from Charles to cut the lead to four, 73-69, with four seconds left. UTD finished off making two free throws for the final, 75-69.
 
ETBU will host the University of the Ozarks on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in Ornelas Gym.