SEGUIN â€" The Texas Lutheran men's basketball team battled back from an 11-point second-half deficit to get within three points in the final minute, but could not complete the comeback, losing 74-69 Saturday afternoon to Southwestern inside Memorial Gymnasium on Senior Day.
 
The Bulldogs cut an 11-point deficit to just three with 45 seconds to play after a Joshua Alderman layup. The defense got the stop it needed afterwards, forcing a Southwestern turnover with 31 seconds left. With the shot clock turned off and trailing by three, the Bulldogs got an open 3-pointer for Garrett Wilkins, but the shot hit off the front rim.
 
The Pirates came away with the rebound, forcing the Bulldogs to foul. Michael Cantu hit a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to make it a two-possession game and put the contest away.
 
The loss dropped the Bulldogs' record to 8-15 on the year and 3-10 in the SCAC, while the Pirates improved 7-16 overall and 4-9 in the conference. The loss TLU's seventh straight at home.
 
Three players scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, with the leader being, fittingly on Senior Day, senior Troy Griffith (San Antonio, Texas). He matched his career high on Saturday, scoring 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 7-of-10 shooting from the free throw line. He also pulled down four rebounds.
 
Robert Watson Jr. (Corpus Christi, Texas) was next in the scoring department, pouring in 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go along with two steals, two assists and a rebound. The other double-figure scorer was Garrett Wilkins (Austin, Texas) and his 13 points. Eleven of those came in the first half.
 
Texas Lutheran shot 39.3 percent from the field for the game, including 34.6 percent shooting in the second half. The Bulldogs struggled from outside, making 2-of-10 from behind the arc and going 0-of-6 in the second half.
 
The Pirates, who had lost seven of eight coming into Saturday, shot 54.3 percent on the day, including 63.6 percent in the first half.
 
With the disparity in field goal percentage, turnovers played a key role in allowing the Bulldogs to hang around in the contest. The Pirates turned it over 20 times compared to just 11 for the Bulldogs.
 
Despite the Pirates hot shooting in the first half, the Bulldogs were actually able to build a substantial lead in the opening 20 minutes. They used an 8-2 run capped off by two Donte McGee free throws to take a 29-19 lead with 5:57 left in the first half.
 
That 10-point advantage would turn out to be the Bulldogs' largest of the game, as Southwestern quickly answered that TLU run with 14 straight points to retake the lead. The Bulldogs would never lead again.
 
After Southwestern led at halftime 39-37, the Bulldogs would tie things up with a Troy Griffin jumper to start the second half. The Pirates would score eight of the next 10 points though and open up another lead.
 
Texas Lutheran is back in action next Wednesday, Feb. 18 in its home finale. The Bulldogs will host Dallas Christian at 7 p.m. for a non-conference matchup. The two teams were supposed to meet in December, but wintry conditions prevented Dallas Christian from getting to Seguin for the game. Live video and stats will be available via TLUBulldogs.com.