Box Score

There were those eager to label the first ever men's basketball matchup of the University of North Texas at Dallas and nearby Paul Quinn University as something like the Camp Wisdom Classic, maybe the Southern Dallas Shootout.  Pick a high octave superlative and let it roll off the lips  But, following the bizarre game at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship's Kingdom Academy gym Tuesday (Nov. 2) evening about all anyone could come up with was, "What just happened?"

The visiting Tigers did finally win, 53-50, after allowing a dominating, double-digit lead to fade away while it attempted to melt the final 10 minutes away with a slow-down approach. What it did was allow Coach Josh Howard's Trailblazers to finally show some life and chip away at a gaping disadvantage they had battled all evening.  To wit: Midway through the first half, they trailed 16-4. Two minutes before intermission, the hosts were down, 28-12. An embarrassing blow-out was in the making.

There was a dim ray of hope when the Trailblazers briefly cut the deficit to seven with 18:22 remaining in the game,  hinting that the sleepwalking might be over.  Finally, a home team scoring run might be in the making.

But, with just under 13 minutes left, Paul Quinn was comfortably back in command, leading by 20, 42-22.

Then, the visitors decided to slow the pace and enjoy an easy cruise to victory – and very nearly gave the prize away. Lo and behold, here came the Trailblazes out of hibernation.  Using an effective zone defense and suddenly seeing shots fall, they cut the Tigers advantage in half. With 33 seconds remaining, UNTD was within four, at 53-47.

But Paul Quinn survived, leaving UNTD fans to wonder if the resurgence that occurred in  the final stages was a sign of the true ability of the Trailblazers. Some hint will come Saturday, when they pay an afternoon visit to Wylie College in Marshall.