Rodriguez leads TLU women past St. Thomas 58-55
-Bryce Hayes, TLU Sports Information
(Seguin) – Senior Morgan Rodriguez had 14 points off the bench, Kailee Mulkey (New Braunfels/New Braunfels) scored 11 points, and Texas Lutheran used timely buckets in the second half to beat St. Thomas 58-55 on Tuesday.
Ashley Reyes, who finished the night with nine points, eight rebounds, and career-high five steals, would grab an offensive rebound and convert an and-one layup and free throw for the game winning points with 13 seconds remaining.
Rodriguez was 6-of-11 from the field and Mulkey was 4-of-8, including two 3-pointers as the Bulldogs shot 43.8% from deep compared to the Celts’ 20%.
Turnovers and fouls plagued both teams throughout as the teams combined for 37 fouls and and 47 turnovers.
The Celts (6-15, 4-11 SCAC) turned the ball over twice in the final two minutes, allowing Texas Lutheran to regain their lead after trailing for nearly three minutes in the fourth quarter.
Texas Lutheran (14-8, 11-3 SCAC) would lead 34-27 at the half behind 10 points from Mulkey. Morgan Rodriguez would go on a tear and dominate the third quarter scoring 12 of the Bulldogs 15 third quarter points on 5-of-6 shooting. The Bulldogs would lead by as much as 11 points in the third quarter before allowing St. Thomas to close the third quarter on a 9-1 run to shrink their lead to 49-46 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs would go 5:10 without scoring in the beginning of the fourth quarter falling behind the Celts before a three from Jayla Santa Maria gave the Bulldogs a one-point lead. The Bulldogs would endure another scoreless stretch going nearly four minutes before their next basket – a Jenesis Navarro three to tie the game at 55-all with 56 seconds remaining.
Up next, the Bulldogs face Austin College on Friday at Memorial Gymnasium in their next-to-last home game of the season. Tip-off is currently set for 7:30 PM. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.
TLU men fall in OT clash to St. Thomas
-Bryce Hayes, TLU Sports Information
(Seguin) – Seniors Sebastian Andrade and Jamir Mason combined for 47 points but the Bulldogs would fall just short to the St. Thomas Celts 99-90 in overtime on Tuesday night at Memorial Gymnasium.
Andrade netted 24 points, Mason 23. Riley Fornerette added 11 points for the Bulldogs (8-14, 6-8 SCAC) including a clutch four-point play down the stretch to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance in the second half.
A driving layup from Sebastian Andrade with four seconds remaining helped the Bulldogs force overtime with the Celts (19-5, 13-2 SCAC), who currently sit in first place in the SCAC.
After a hard fought battle in regulation, the Bulldogs struggled in overtime only mustering one made field goal in the bonus period. The Celts would outscore the Bulldogs 13-4 in overtime and escape the Dog House and Seguin with a victory.
Texas Lutheran has won two of their last three games – thrusting themselves right into the thick of the SCAC Tournament chase as they fight to make the tournament as a top six team in the conference.
The first half was tightly contested with the Bulldogs leading for the majority of the period, but the Celts would flip the momentum halfway through the opening half and lead from the 8:09 mark through halftime. The Celts would take a 44-40 lead into the break. The difference in the half would be taking advantage of the opposing team’s turnovers. Both teams would conclude the half with eight turnovers, but the Celts would hold a 13-9 advantage in points off turnovers as the teams headed to the locker room.
Texas Lutheran would only lead for a grand total of 13 seconds in the second half, but the Bulldogs remained competitive as they kept the game close heading into the final two minutes following the four-point play from Fornerette. Andrade would lead the Bulldogs down the stretch scoring TLU’s final five points in regulation.
The Bulldogs could never get going in overtime as the Celts opened the period on an 8-0 run spelling doom for the Bulldogs as they would win by a final tally of 99-90.
Up next, the Bulldogs face Austin College on Friday at Memorial Gymnasium in their next-to-last home game of the season. Tip-off is currently set for 5:30 PM. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.