SEGUIN, Texas -- Ahead by three after an Isaac Orozco (Helotes/O'Connor) three-pointer with 2:43 remaining, Texas Lutheran gave up 11 points over the final 2:30 and lost a 71-69 contest to No. 4 St. Thomas at Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night.

The defeat for the Bulldogs 8-9 (3-5 SCAC) was their third straight, while the Celts (17-1, 9-0 SCAC) won their 14th consecutive game.

Mason Wallace (San Antonio/Judson) put the Bulldogs ahead 67-66 with 37 seconds remaining before calling a timeout. St. Thomas responded with a contested layup that turned into a three-point play following an and-one opportunity with 27 seconds left. Teddy Tapken (Austin/Lake Travis) tied the game 69-all with 14 seconds left in the game. A putback layup with three seconds remaining would win the game for the Celts as a halfcourt heave from Mason Wallace would fall short.

St. Thomas was just 2-for-10 (20%) from three-point range but went 28-for-55 (51%) from inside the arc and 9-for-12 (75%) at the free throw line. The Celts committed 11 turnovers to the Bulldogs' 16 and posted a 24-17 scoring advantage off turnovers.

Tapken and Orozco led a trio of Bulldogs with 14 points each. Tapken added ten rebounds and three assists for his second straight double-double while Orozco dished out a team-high four assists.

Jonah Johnson (Cibolo/Steele) turned in his most productive outing of conference play as the sophomore guard finished with 12 points off the bench, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Despite the Celts leading for a majority of the first half, the Bulldogs controlled the opening period to take a 28-27 lead into halftime. TLU narrowly outshot St. Thomas 42% to 41% from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Darren Ford Jr. (San Antonio/Veterans Memorial) led the first half charge with a career-high eight points in his return to the starting lineup. Johnson added a pair of three while Tapken had four points and six rebounds at the halfway mark.

The Celts led by as many as eight points and outscored the Bulldogs 44-41 in the second half to avoid the upset.

TLU is back home Saturday as the Bulldogs host Colorado College (7-11, 5-4 SCAC). Tip-off is set for 4 PM. The game will be streamed on FloCollege. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.

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