MEMPHIS, TN -- The Texas Lutheran men's basketball team defeated Mississippi University for Women (MUW), 81-74, in their opening matchup of the Hilgeman Holiday Classic hosted by Rhodes College at Mallory Gymnasium in Memphis, Tennessee on Saturday.
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures, led by
Mason Wallace (San Antonio/Judson) scoring 18 points to go with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Wallace scored 15 of his 18 points in the second half.
Teddy Tapken (Austin/Lake Travis) tallied 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and added four rebounds.
Semaj Edwards (Lanham, MD/Oak Hill) finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists despite foul trouble while
Kolin Polk (Lafayette, LA/Manvel (TX)) added nine points and
Jonah Johnson (Cibolo/Steele) contributed six points.
As a team, the Bulldogs shot 46.3 percent (31-of-67) and made 14 of 32 attempts from three-point range. The Bulldogs success beyond the arc swung the game as they only went to the free throw line seven times compared to the Owls 26 attempts and were outrebounded by 12.
Texas Lutheran led for all but 18 seconds on Saturday.
After the Owls scored the first basket of the evening, the Bulldogs utilized a 13-4 run to take an early lead. Texas Lutheran would lead by as many as 15 points in the first half and would carry a 12 point, 42-30 lead into the locker room. Edwards led the Bulldogs with eight first half points.
The Owls responded early in the second half, opening the half with a 17-8 run to shrink the TLU lead to three. Back-to-back baskets from
Mason Wallace kept the Owls from tying the game before a fastbreak layup from
Jediah Chavarin-Rivens (Weslaco/Weslaco East) and a three from Wallace stretched the lead back out to eight.
MUW kept fighting and were able to finally tie the game 63-all with 6:38 remaining before back-to-back threes from
Kolin Polk returned the TLU lead to six.
TLU held on to a single-digit lead for a majority of the second half.
Semaj Edwards, who sat for all but four minutes in the second half due to foul trouble, scored the final four points to put the game away.
The Bulldogs will play in the championship game of the Hilgeman Holiday Classic against tournament host, Rhodes College, on Sunday, December 21 at 3 PM inside Mallory Gymnasium. The Lynx are currently 6-0 at home this season and won their last seven home games. It will be the first-time the two teams have ever faced off against one another. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.
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