Austin College women cruise past Southwestern 

SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College women’s basketball team sprinted out to a big lead and never looked back, topping Southwestern University 78-55 on Friday night for their seventh straight victory. The ‘Roos are now 9-4 overall and 2-0 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

Austin College jumped out to a 7-0 lead, and after a bucket by Southwestern, the ‘Roos added a 10-0 run to go on top 17-2 with 3:20 left in the opening frame. Baskets by Addison Walling and Reagan Chiaverini pushed the margin to 21-4, and the ‘Roos would end the first quarter holding a 25-8 edge.

It was more of the same to start the second quarter, as Austin College out-scored the Pirates 14-4 in the first five minutes to go on top 39-12 after a three by Ann Savage. Southwestern would start to chip away at the margin, with a three pointer from Renee Walker getting it back under 20 points at 43-24 with 1:09 left before the break. However, a bucket from Mikayla Gascich gave Austin College a 45-24 cushion at halftime.

Savage opened the third quarter with a three pointer and Ally Longaker exploded for 10 quick points as Austin College took a 64-30 advantage with 3:55 left in the frame. The ‘Roos would also get a pair of free throws from Kacie West and a basket by Andrea Selkow to end the third with a 69-37 lead, and the ‘Roos would coast from there.

The ‘Roos scored their final point of the game on a free throw by Meghan Lewis with 5:39 left in the fourth quarter, giving Austin College a 78-46 cushion before clearing the bench during the game’s final minutes of action.

Longaker hit 7-of-10 shots on her way to 16 points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots and Bryce Frank added 16 points and six boards. Savage finished with 11 points, hitting 3-of-5 from deep, and added five assists and three steals, and West chipped in 10 points off the bench. Walling handed out 11 assists, the most in a single game by an Austin College player since February of 2012.

Zhazze Brown came off the Southwestern bench to score 18 points as the only Pirate in double-figures, as the Pirates shot just 27.1% from the field and committed 20 turnovers in the game. Austin College shot 47.6% from the field and 38.9% from deep as a team.

Austin College will be looking to run its winning-streak to eight on Sunday as the ‘Roos host Texas Lutheran University at 2:00 p.m.

Late run pushes Southwestern past ’Roo men 

SHERMAN, Texas – The Austin College men’s basketball team held a 10-point edge with five and a half minutes to play, but Southwestern University would use a 21-4 run to close the game and hand the ‘Roos a 77-70 defeat on Friday night in Hughey Gym. The ‘Roos are now 2-11 overall and 0-2 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

The ‘Roos got out to a hot start, with a three from Kameron Hill putting Austin College ahead 13-7 with 15:43 left in the opening half. Josh Hardwick would add a trey and Hill would bury another triple to push the lead to 22-9 four minutes later. The lead grew to as much as 13 before Southwestern began chipping away, with back-to-back buckets by Jake Holmes pulling the Pirates to within seven at 25-18 with 7:56 left before the half.

Southwestern would get a pair of threes from Justin McCormack to narrow the margin to 34-30 with 1:25 left, but a free throw by Justice Mercadel gave Austin College a five point lead at halftime. Both teams struggled from the field in the opening half, with Southwestern shooting 33.3% while Austin College connected on just 30.3% of its attempts.

 Austin Wells knocked down a pair of threes to push Austin College’s lead to 41-34 early in the second half before the Pirates responded with an 8-0 run to take lead of the game at 42-41 with 15:02 left in the game. Wells converted a three-point-play and added a jumper to put Austin College on top 46-45, and the lead grew to 50-45 on a bucket by JP Feider with 12:43 left to play.

Hill and Wells each buried a trey and Mercadel scored to give Austin College a 66-56 lead with 5:28 left to play but that’s when Southwestern would start its decisive run, scoring 12 unanswered to go on top 68-66 with 2:32 to play. After Kam Hogan tied things up with a jumper, the Pirates would get a basket by Luke Hicks with 1:54 to play and would not relinquish the lead again the rest of the way.

Wells scored 17 points on 6-of-19 shooting to lead the ‘Roos, while Mercadel finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Hill chipped in 12, and Michael Holland pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds while also blocking five shots.

Ryan Wheeler scored 13 points and Holmes posted a double-double with 11 points and 13 boards to pace the Pirates.

Austin College returns to the court on Sunday when they host Texas Lutheran at 12:00 p.m.

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.