Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Milestones, some forgotten sage once noted, are the memory's touchstones. That being the case, mark down Saturday, December 4, 2021.  On that date, in the tension-filled Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship gym where the University of North Texas at Dallas basketball teams hosted John Brown University, there were two major events.

     For the first time in still young Trailblazers athletics journey, the women's and men's team scored victories on the same day.  And, Josh Howard's men eased a monkey off their back by finally winning a Sooner Athletics Conference game.-
     The history-making went down to the wire on both occasions as the women slipped by their opponent, 64-63, and the men won, 65-64.  Rodney Belcher's ladies upped their season record to 7-3 for the season and 2-3 in conference play. Their male counterparts are now 4-5 and 1-3. 
 
     Both left the court for a well-deserved holiday break with smiles on their faces.

     "The guys did what we had talked about all week," said Howard. "We needed to get the weight off our shoulders and prove we could win against a SAC opponent. I was proud of the way they fought from start to finish."

     Belcher's evaluation of his women was much the same.  "We showed a lot of grit today against a good, solid team. We played the way you have to play in this league. Today's effort was an example of what we have to do to continue building."

     For the UNTD women, the matter was not settled until Mykayla Dumas sank a free throw with only three-tenths of a second remaining to clinch the one-point victory.   The men's win wasn't assured until Curt Coleman ran the court and connected on a layup with just 0:13 left to play.

     The lady Trailblazers and John Brown exchanged the lead no less than 13 times. Coming off a Thursday win against Southwestern Assemblies of God, the visitors led 16-15 after the first quarter and improved their advantage to 33-30 by halftime. The Trailblazers, displaying a stout defense, had mov ed into a 49-47 lead after three.

     Then, in the final frame, it briefly appeared the hosts might ease to the finish, building a 10-point advantage when Brooke Lopez's three-pointer upped the margin to 57-47 with 7:28 remaining. John Brown, however, replied with a long-range bombardment to regain the lead late.

     Dumas led the UNTD scoring with18 (and eight rebounds) while freshman ShanDrea Yeldell had 14 points and Caitlyn Cron, 11. Natalie Smith and Tarrah Stephens led John Brown with 18 and 17 points. 

     The Trailblazers men got off to a wobbly start, trailing 11-0 before their offense came alive.
It wasn't until early in the second half when Steven Kimberling's set shot finally gave UNTD a 38-36 lead. Then, with a swift series of three-pointers from the corner, the Graham native helped the hosts into an eight-point advantage (48-40) with 14 minutes remaining.

     But, with five minutes remaining, John Brown had tied things at 59-all and held a one-point advantage with 1:26 left. Finally, Coleman's game-winning basket settled the issue.

     Kimberling, having his best game of the season, led the UNTD scoring with 14, followed by Vernon Johnson's 13 and Christian Plummer's 10. The Trailblazer's 40.7 shooting average was helped considerably by eight successful three-point attempts.

     Absent from the Trailblazers attack Saturday was reliable Donovan Deal who was sidelined by 
concussion protocol.

     The Trailblazer men will next host North American University in a non-conference encounter December 13 at 7 p.m. while the women travel to A&M Texarkana  for a non-league  game at 5 p.m.