Texas Lutheran Falls, 83-69, to St. Thomas

HOUSTON, Texas -- Despite 15 points, eight rebounds, and four assists from Xavier Phillips (Austin/Dripping Springs) in his return to the starting lineup, the Texas Lutheran men's basketball team (3-13, 2-5 SCAC) dropped its Sunday afternoon matchup with St. Thomas, a team receiving votes in D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, 83-69.

Four Bulldogs would finish in double figures led by Phillips. Mason Wallace (San Antonio/Judson) finished with 14 points while LaDarius King (Austin/St. Stephen's Episcopal) registered 11 points and five rebounds. Houston native DJ Ardoin (Houston/Pearland) added ten points off the bench for the Bulldogs.

Texas Lutheran trailed 41-33 at halftime but were doomed by a 13-5 run from the Celts to open the second half. The Bulldogs were not able to recover from the opening stretch, trailing by as many as 19 points in the second half. The Bulldogs chipped away down the stretch, cutting the Celts lead to seven before late-game free throws returned the lead to double-digits.

The Celts shot 43.5% from the field on the night and held a 46-34 advantage on the glass.

Texas Lutheran will take their designated off week to regroup before continuing their road trip by traveling to Kerrville for a rematch with the Schreiner Mountaineers on January 19. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.

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