Bryce Hayes
SEGUIN, Texas — The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs made a furious comeback attempt but fell just short to the Hamilton College Continentals, 85-83, at Memorial Gymnasium Wednesday afternoon.For the second straight game, Xavier Phillips (Austin/Dripping Springs) led Texas Lutheran with a team-high 19 points while leading the team with two steals. Riley Fornerette (Surprise, AZ/Dysart) pumped in 16 points and added a team-high five assists and Easton Allen (New Braunfels/Marion) had 15 points while leading the team with seven rebounds and a block.Hamilton was in control through most of the first half, starting the game on a 6-0 run and leading by 12 with 13:32 remaining. An 8-0 run from Texas Lutheran closed the gap but Texas Lutheran would still trail by three at the half.
Texas Lutheran began the second half on a 5-0 run, thanks to two free throws from Easton Allen and a three from Mason Green (San Marcos/San Marcos) to take its largest lead of the game, 44-42 with 19:17 left. From that point, the game featured three ties and one lead change.
Mason Green hit a pair of three-pointers late, one to tie the game, 72-72, and one to bring the Continentals lead to 84-83 with three seconds remaining.
Following a TLU foul in an attempt to extend the game, the Continentals would make the first and miss the second – bringing the game to its final score of 85-83.
Texas Lutheran will enjoy a short Thanksgiving break before continuing its non-conference slate against LeTourneau on Sunday, Nov. 27. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 PM. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.
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