PLAINVIEW, Texas – University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball was defeated 82-64 by Wayland Baptist on Thursday night at Hutcherson Center. The Trailblazers trailed by seven at halftime but were unable to maintain the gap in the second half, as they got outscored by 11 points and the Pioneers shot 59.3 percent (16-27) from the field in that frame.
 
In the opening stanza, there were nine lead changes and two ties by the teams. The Trailblazers (4-3, 1-3 SAC) used a 7-2 boost seven minutes into the game with a go-ahead trey by junior Sergio McClain (Peoria, Ill.) and consecutive layups by junior Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) to give the team's largest lead of the game, 14-11.
 
Wayland Baptist (2-4, 2-1 SAC) scored three trifectas to eventually take the lead at 22-19. Crawford at one stretch had nine straight UNTD points after the pair of layups with two free throws and a three of his own to give the Trailblazers a 21-19 edge, which was their final lead of the game. The Pioneers last three sparked a 7-0 run that eventually turned to a 13-3 scoring swing and lift the team to their largest lead of the half nine (33-24). The Trailblazers pulled within five with 1:23 left, but the home team took a 35-28 lead into the break.
 
In the first four minutes of the second half, the Trailblazers worked to slice the gap to a point, 40-39. Down eight during the first two minutes, senior Vernon Johnson (DeSoto, Texas) had a three-point play and followed a layup by senior Darion Jones (Austin, Texas) with a layup that capped the run. Wayland Baptist got a three by Quenton Coleman and Jones answered with a layup to keep the game at one possession. Coleman had two free throws and then two by Kabine Kaba made it a six-point span. Johnson and Crawford had free throws on UNTD's side to keep the game within reach, but the Pioneers had a 9-2 run bump the score to 62-49 with 10:36 left. Three free throws with two by junior Daniel Sohn (Aledo, Texas) and one by Johnson kept the game at 10 points. Wayland Baptist scored eight of the next 10 points to expand the lead to 16 and it remained in double-digits the rest of the way. The final score was by 18 points and largest margin of the night. It is the first game UNTD has played this season with a double-digit difference as the result.
 
Crawford was the team's leading scorer with 17 points and added 10 rebounds for his fourth consecutive double-double, all within conference play. Crawford shot 6-of-8 from the floor, made his one trifecta attempt, and was 4-for-5 at the charity stripe. Johnson and Jones each had 12 points and combined for nine rebounds and five assists. Senior Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas) tossed in nine points with three rebounds, an assist, and two blocks. The Trailblazers shot 15-for-18 at the free throw line, marking the team's best shooting percentage at the line this season and was the most made free throws against a SAC team on the year. The team had five blocks, which is the third time on the year that mark was achieved.
 
Coleman led all scorers with 32 points and was a huge part of Wayland Baptist's success with 22 in the second half. Kabine had all 11 of his points in the second as well and earned a double-double with 10 boards. Dylan McDougal scored 17 points to round out the trio of leading scorers for the Pioneers. Wayland Baptist held a 24-11edge on second chance points.
 
UNT Dallas remains on the road this Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off against Oklahoma Panhandle State.