SEGUIN â€" The Texas Lutheran men's basketball team battled back from an early deficit and held Huston-Tillotson to 37 percent shooting in the second half Tuesday night in the Bulldogs' 84-78 win over the Rams inside Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The Bulldogs found themselves down by 12 after just five and a half minutes of action, but clawed their way back into the game slowly but surely, eventually evening the score heading into halftime. They stifled the Rams in the second, forcing 10 turnovers and holding them to 37.1% shooting from the floor to secure a win.
 
The victory improves the Bulldogs' record to 3-2 on the year and marks the first time this season they've won back-to-back games. The loss moved the Rams' record to 0-7.
 
Garrett Wilkins (Austin, Texas) had himself a well-rounded game, impacting the action in a number of different areas and threatening to tally a triple-double. He scored 15 points while also notching a couple career highs with eight rebounds and seven assists.
 
Five different Bulldogs scored in double digits on Tuesday with Wilkins leading the pack. Thomas Verm (13 points), Donte McGee (13), Robert Watson Jr. (11) and Joseph Richardson (11) were the other four to notch double-digit scoring nights.
 
McGee (Victoria, Texas) was good off the bench for Texas Lutheran, scoring those 13 points while also tying for the team lead with eight rebounds.
 
The Bulldogs were down 20-8 after five and a half minutes because of some hot three-point shooting from the Rams, who made four 3-pointers in that opening run. The TLU defense would adjust though, holding Huston-Tillotson without a 3-pointer the rest of the half and just 2-of-14 (14.3%) from deep after that early hot streak.
 
The Bulldogs used a 16-7 run to get back to within three, trailing 27-24 with 6:51 left in the half. The Rams stretched the lead back to nine with 3:15 left, but TLU answered with a 13-2 run to take a two-point lead before the Rams scored a late bucket to tie the game heading into the halftime locker room.
 
The first 10 minutes of the second half were back and forth with neither team able to gain any separation from the other. The Bulldogs changed that with a 13-1 run to take a 66-58 lead with just under eight minutes left to go. The Rams never got closer than three points the rest of the way.
 
Verm (Sealy, Texas) was one of the stars of the second half. After scoring four points and not grabbing a rebound in 14 first-half minutes, the junior center scored nine minutes and pulled down three rebounds in just nine minutes of action in the second half.
 
For the fourth straight game the Bulldogs held the rebounding advantage, out-rebounding the Rams 44-39. TLU has averaged nine more rebounds per game than its opponents during that four-game stretch.
 
The Bulldogs will enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday and will come back looking to make it three straight wins when they travel to Dallas Christian at 6 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2. Live video and live stats will be available via TLUBulldogs.com.