SEGUIN â€" Robert Watson Jr. scored a team-high 19 points, including 14 in the first half, to pace the Texas Lutheran men's basketball team in its 77-63 season-opening win on Monday night against Open Bible College inside Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The win was the Bulldogs' first season-opening win since they tipped off the 2009-10 season with a thrilling two-point victory at home over Southwestern Kansas.
 
Watson Jr. (Corpus Christi, Texas) finished the first 20 minutes of action with those 14 points and five rebounds, leading the team in both categories. The sophomore forward scored his first points with less than 10 minutes remaining in the half. At that point though, after sinking a pair of free throws, Watson scored 14 of the Bulldogs' next 16 points in just over seven minutes of game time. The scoring barrage keyed an 18-11 run that gave the Bulldogs a 34-25 lead with 2:29 left in the first half.
 
The offensive disply came as perhaps a surprise to most Bulldog fans unfamiliar with Watson Jr. Those 19 points were a career-high and nearly matched his 26 total points scored during his freshman season. Monday's performance may just serve as a coming-out party for the explosive guard.
 
The Bruins would get things back to within three heading into the half behind an 8-2 run and even tie things up at 38-38 early in the second half, but the Bulldogs never trailed again.
 
Along with Watson Jr.'s big night, Thomas Verm (Sealy, Texas) and Garrett Wilkins (Austin, Texas) both chipped in with productive offensive performances.
 
Verm, a junior, was an inside presence all night for Texas Lutheran. The 6-8, 230-pound center overpowered the undersized Bruins' frontcourt on his way to a 16-point, seven-rebound night. Those 16 points marked a career high for Verm.
 
Wilkins, a junior guard, flashed some explosiveness against the Bruins, finishing with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. He was also perfect from the free-throw stripe, hitting a team-high 7-of-7 from the line.
 
As a team, the Bulldogs shot free throws exceptionally well, making 16-of-18 (88.9%), while the Bruins shot 15-of-24 (62.5%).
 
After the Bruins tied the game back up at 38-38 with just over 16 minutes left, Watson scored five straight points and led a 9-0 run that put the Bulldogs back out ahead 47-38.
 
The Bulldogs would hold onto the lead this time, never letting the Bruins get closer than four points the rest of the way.
 
Off the bench, senior Mark Kovach turned into a workman-like performance, notching eight points and pulling down a career-high 10 rebounds. Kovach's performance, along with Verm's, was a big reason why the Bulldogs outscored the Bruins 36-12 in the paint.
 
The first half offered a slow start to the Bulldogs' season as they shot 37.5 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The tough shooting, coupled with some hot shooting from deep from the Bruins (5-of-11, 45.5%), kept the game close.
 
The Bulldogs found their stroke in the second half though, exploiting their size advantage down low on their way to almost 46 percent shooting from the field in the second half.
 
Next up for Texas Lutheran is another home game. This time the Bulldogs will take on Southwestern at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in Memorial Gymnasium. Although the Pirates are an SCAC opponent, Wednesday's game will not count on either team's conference record. Live video and live stats of the contest will be available through TLUBulldogs.com.