GEORGETOWN, Texas â€" Texas Lutheran rallied from down nine points with 5:59 remaining and stunned Southwestern 81-76 Saturday in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both schools.
 
In Southwestern's Robertson Center, TLU (6-6, 1-0 SCAC) took its first lead of the second half with a Jordan Kouremetis (San Antonio/O'Connor) three-pointer with 2:52 to play.
 
The Kouremetis three was part of an eventual 22-8 closing run for the Bulldogs.
 
Kouremetis' three was preceded by a Donte McGee (Victoria/Memorial/Texas A&M-Kingsville) three-point play. McGee's bucket and free throw cut the Southwestern lead to 69-68.
 
After Southwestern's Chris Lee made two free throws to tie the game at 71, Sterling Holmes (San Antonio/Antonian/Richland) hit a long two to give TLU a 74-71 edge with 35 seconds remaining.
 
The Bulldogs made six of six free throws in the final 24 seconds to secure the conference win. Zach Behr (Temple/Temple/Schreiner) made a pair, and Holmes closed out the win with four straight. Behr scored 10 points off the Bulldog bench.
 
Southwestern (5-5, 0-1 SCAC) had its four-game win streak snapped.
 
The Bulldogs won for the fourth time in five games. TLU has won six of its last eight since opening the year 0-4.
 
Holmes led TLU with 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting. He added three assists and two rebounds.
 
Kouremetis chipped in 16 with three rebounds and three assists. He made three of his six three-point attempts.
 
McGee posted his third double-double of the season. The 6-foot-5 senior forward scored 14 and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
McGee played 33 minutes and went 5-for-6 from the field and 3-for-3 from the three-point line.
 
Southwestern kept its lead over TLU for the majority of the game by making three-pointers. Of the Pirates' 27 made field goals, 12 of them were three-pointers. SU went 12-for-27 from beyond the arc.
 
Southwestern shot 53.1 percent from the field overall, but the Pirates turned the ball of 14 times. The 14 turnovers led to 21 TLU points.
 
The Bulldogs continue SCAC play on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10 with home games against Centenary College (La.) and Colorado College, respectively. Both games in TLUs Memorial Gymnasium start at 8 p.m.
 
TLU will have live video and live stats for both conference games from tlubulldogs.com.