Texas Lutheran men holds on late, slip past Schreiner in SCAC opener
-Bryce Hayes, TLU Sports Information
(Seguin) – Xavier Phillips – in his first game back from injury – scored 12 of his 20 points after halftime, Cameron Fontenot added 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds to help Texas Lutheran top Schreiner on Tuesday night to secure a win in the conference opener.
Schreiner nearly erased what had been a 12-point Texas Lutheran lead, but the Bulldogs never faltered and closed out strong at the free throw line to secure the victory and end their early season losing streak.
Playing for the first time in eight days, the Bulldogs (2-5, 1-0 SCAC) went back and forth with the Mountaineers (2-7, 0-2 SCAC) in a game that featured eight ties and eight lead changes.
The Bulldogs trailed for a majority of the first half before taking the lead 29-27 and close the half with a 31-29 lead thanks to a 9-2 lead spearheaded by Jamir Mason.
While the Bulldogs struggles from the field continued, they were the beneficiary of timely shooting from the free throw line – shooting 13-15 (86.7%) from the charity stripe – helping the Bulldogs hold on to their lead over the Mountaineers down the stretch.
Seniors Sebastian Andrade and Cameron Fontenot sparked an early second half run that ultimately decided the game as the Bulldogs would open the second half on a 14-2 run to completely flip the momentum in the Bulldogs’ favor.
The Mountaineers would shrink the Bulldogs lead over the course of the second half but three critical free throws from Xavier Phillips over the course of two trips to the free throw line to seal the victory.
The Bulldogs played aggressively on the defensive end forcing 18 Mountaineers turnovers that turned into 25 Bulldogs points.
The Bulldogs now have ten days off as the semester comes to a close before hosting St. Thomas (TX) in SCAC action on December 17. Tip-off is set for 5:30 PM. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.
Kailee Mulkey (25). Photo by Dustin Wyatt.
TLU women defeat Schreiner in conference opener 75-63
Texas Lutheran improves to 4-4, 1-0 in conference play following its second straight victory, while Schreiner drops to 3-6, 0-1 in SCAC play with the loss.
After a slow start for both teams that saw the teams combine for a total of 18 turnovers, Texas Lutheran led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. The Bulldogs forced 11 Schreiner turnovers with Jovanna Adame tallying four steals in the opening stanza.
The Bulldogs dominated the second quarter holding the Mountaineers to eight points in the second quarter. Texas Lutheran would close the half on a 10-2 run to take a 38-20 lead into the break.
The Bulldogs picked up where they left off in the third quarter – extending their lead to 23 in a quarter that saw Morgan Rodriguez explode for 9 points.
Texas Lutheran shot 78% and outscored the Mountaineers 24-19 in the third to take the 23-point lead.
Schreiner connected on 50% of their shots in the fourth quarter and trimmed Texas Lutheran’s lead to 13 with 42 seconds remaining but the final result was never in doubt as the Bulldogs secured the 75-63 win.
Texas Lutheran outrebounded Schreiner 35-29 and outscored them 30-22 in the paint. The Bulldogs shot 52% from the field and 7-of-12 from three-point range.
Mulkey scored 19 points on 7-11 shooting, adding 4 steals and 3 rebounds.
Morgan Rodriguez scored 16 points – a season high. Tanyse Moerhig joined Mulkey and Rodriguez in double figures finishing with 12 points adding two blocks and Heaven Dandridge added 8 points.
Jenesis Navarro led the Bulldogs with seven assists and Ashley Reyes led on the glass with a career-high 9 rebounds.
Texas Lutheran returns to Memorial Gymnasium on December 17 at 7:30 PM as they host the Celts of St. Thomas in SCAC action. All streaming and stat links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.
Isaac Orozco. Photo by Bryce Hayes.
Isaac Orozco named SCAC Character & Community Male Student Athlete of the Week
(Seguin) – Isaac Orozco, a freshman point guard on the men’s basketball team, has been selected as the SCAC Character and Community Male Student-Athlete of the Week for the week beginning with December 6th.
The SCAC Character & Community award honors the efforts of student-athletes who excel in the field of athletics, and also serve their campus and community.
By day, you can find the Helotes, Texas, native thriving in the classroom as well as on the court as Orozco has excelled on both ends of the floor to start his collegiate career ranking second in the conference in steals (2.3) and currently ranks fourth in points per game for the Bulldogs with 8.4 points per game and first in assists (3.0).
Off the floor, Orozco has been an active member of his community at home in Helotes and looks forward to becoming active in the Seguin community as a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). As a high school student, Orozco was a member of the Scholarly Athletes Serving Others (SASO) organization for four years. Through this organization, he and his peers would learn how to become better men by going to meetings for skills like changing tires, cyber safety, budgeting and more.
Outside of his own personal growth through the organization, he would participate in community service projects which saw him work numerous 5Ks, being a coach at a special needs bike camp, and making food bags at a food bank.
He has also spent a week each summer working as a camp leader at his church.
When asked about all the different ways he’s been involved in the community at such a young age Orozco stated, “I really enjoy being able to give my time back to the community that made me into the man I am today. Nothing beats the feeling of being appreciated when you put your time and effort into serving others.”
While Isaac Orozco is starting to come into his own as a college athlete and as a man, he has been a leader of men for years as he has worked constantly off the floor to be a role model and make his community a better place.