DALLAS, Texas – The Dallas Christian College men's basketball team dropped a home outing to Paul Quinn College on Thursday afternoon by a final score of 69-54. The Crusaders took a 34-33 lead into halftime, but the NAIA Tigers were able to keep their unbeaten season going with their 10
th victory behind a 36-20 second half, which included holding DCC's fast style offense to eight points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The Crusaders were held to 35 percent shooting and cooled off from three-point territory by making just four shots in 22 tries. This ended a three-game streak with double-digits, including a pair of NCAA Division I games.
Nick Erves maintained his strong play with a game-high 16 points thanks to 11 in the first stanza. He was 4-for-5 from the floor and grabbed all six rebounds in that frame. The Crusaders outdid Paul Quinn on the glass, 45-43.
Jairus Allen delivered a strong 36 minutes, nearing a double-double with 12 points and team-high nine boards.
Jalen Perez rounded out the trio of double-digit scorers with 10 points and hit a pair of treys. Other notable stats to point out were
Joseph Allen with three blocks and Erves with that same amount of steals.
Paul Quinn's athletic ability to run the floor wore down DCC thanks to a 16-2 edge on fastbreak points, and 24-7 on points off turnovers. There was also a noticeable difference on scoring in the paint with Paul Quinn doubling the margin by 22.
There were five lead changes total in the first half, as a three by Perez in the early going gave DCC its first one at 5-2. After five points in a row by Erves, including a trifecta to make it 17-11, the Crusaders would hold a 17-11 advantage within the first seven minutes. Seven consecutive points by the Tigers erased the margin and made it a one-point lead at the midway point. The run would reach nine before
Jason Makayabo hit the first of two free throws to snap the drought. Everything was within four points or less by either side the remainder of the opening half. Perez had a jumper to lift the Crusaders to a 33-29 edge, but the next four points by Paul Quinn knotted things in the last 30 seconds. Erves had two free throw attempts in the closing ticks and would make the second to give the Crusaders a 34-33 halftime lead.
Playing in just their second home game all season, the second half would be the first 20-minute span for the Crusaders to be outscored in. The Tigers jumped out to a six-point lead, the largest by a team in the game at 17:40. That was the margin for a bit, until a steal by
Jairus Allen led to layup by
Tilyr Hobson on an assist by Perez. The good ball movement stalled from there, as neither team recorded points for over two minutes on a layup by PQC's Spencer McElway. A Steven Tynes steal would find Trevion Shaw for a fastbreak layup and make it 51-44 with 12:55.
The Crusaders next field goal and points occurred at 11:23 on a layup by
Micah Tucker, which reduced the deficit back to seven at 53-46. The Allen brothers teamed up with Joseph getting a steal and finding Jairus for a fastbreak layup to make it 53-48 and nine and a half to play. Things stalled even further for the home team there, as a trey by Ja'mare Redus started eight points in a row over a lengthy span. The next DCC point(s) was Erves on a free throw in the next seven minutes. Paul Quinn took its lead to as high as 17, and stay ahead by double-digits in the final stages of the game. In the last nine and a half minutes, the Crusaders struggled to one field goal, which was a
Royce Mendez three that cut the game to 13 with 1:22. Erves had the other three points for six total DCC scores in that span.
The Tigers were led by Shaw and McElway with a combined 31 points and 24 rebounds. The top producing tandem each had a double-double. Redus chipped in 13, while five players had at least eight points.
This tournament had several adjustments throughout, as Paul Quinn and North American were the only teams to play all three days. The Tigers dominated with double-digit victories in each, but DCC played them the closest. The other two games were opposed by NCAA Division III Albion College and NAIA North American University. Due to the number of teams, DCC had to cancel some of its matchups and only played once rather than three times.
WELCOME BACK
Head Coach of Paul Quinn College was Dallas Christian Alumni, Brandon Espinosa (2011). He earned his bachelors degree in Business Administration and was part of the DCC men's basketball team that won the 2010 ACCA National Championship.
UP NEXT
Dallas Christian College was able to add another pair of games to make-up for the shortened participation in the tournament by going to Southwest Texas on January 2-3. DCC will play a pair of NCAA Division I teams there with University of Incarnate Word at 4 p.m. on Sunday. They follow it up with Conference USA opponent UTSA at 7 p.m. on Monday night. All links to follow the action for those games are on the schedule/results tab of the men's basketball sports page.
The MCM Elegante DCC New Year's Classic Follows on Jan. 6-8 for the men's basketball games. DCC will play College of the Ozarks on Jan. 6 at 6 p.m., Baptist Bible College on Jan. 7 at 6 p.m., and Ecclesia College on Jan. 8 at 3 p.m.
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"Dallas Christian educates and mentors students to be people of influence engaging in their calling to the work of Christ in the church and in the world."
