Saints Drop Close Game to Texas College

TYLER, TEXAS (Dec. 8, 2022) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's basketball team fell to Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) opponent Texas College (TC) 85-80 on Thursday. The Saints drop to 4-5 overall and 1-2 in the RRAC. The Steers jump to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in conference.

Head Coach Chris Dial said, "We were sloppy and didn't execute during the game. We allowed them to gain momentum early and the basket got big for them. I'm looking forward to getting another opportunity to win on Saturday."

History

The Saints were 16-7 against the Steers prior to the game.

Basics

The Saints shot well in the first half, but the Steers offense kept pace. Texas College shot over 50 percent from the field and only committed three turnovers. OLLU tallied 45.5 percent shooting from the three-point line but turned the ball over nine times. The Saints only fouled twice during the first half and didn't allow a free throw by the Steers.

OLLU outscored the Steers in the second half but were unable to fight all the way back to win. The Saints eventually tied the game with 12 minutes left and took the lead three minutes later. The game came down to the wire with under a minute remaining. Both teams made costly turnovers and the Steers prevailed from the free-throw line. The Saints will look to salvage the road trip with a game against Jarvis Christian University on Saturday.

Offensive/defensive standouts

Ruben Monzon led the Saints with a season-high 29 points. Monzon and Tommie Law had a team-high six rebounds each. Georges Darwiche led the team with three assists.

Qyrique Dabon led Texas College with 21 points. Dabon also grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for a double-double. LeTraveon Jones and Mike Houston had two assists each.

Inside the box

OLLU combined for 31-of-57 shooting for 54.4 percent, 8-of-19 from three-point range for 42.1 percent and 10-of-14 from the free-throw line for 71.4 percent. Texas College shot 34-of-64 for 53.1 percent, 11-of-24 three pointers for 45.8 percent and 6-of-10 from the free-throw line for 60 percent.

Both teams grabbed 28 rebounds. OLLU forced 10 turnovers and committed 13.

Up next

The Saints face Jarvis Christian University on the road on Dec. 10 at 4 p.m.