DALLAS, TX-- The Dallas Christian College men's basketball team put together an impressive performance against Texas A&M Texarkana with a packed house on New Year's Eve. Although, the Crusaders suffered an 80-72 loss, they had some rim rocking dunks, deep three-pointers, and a chance to win the game as it was tied at 67 with 2 minutes remaining in the game.

The first half was tightly contested as neither team led by more than 8 points in the opening 20 minutes of the game. The Crusaders shot 17-32 (53%) from the field in the first half and 3-9 (33%) from the three-point line in the first half. After one half of play, DCC only trailed by 5 points with all the momentum heading into the second half. Tilly Hobson had an electrifying dunk in the first half that jolted energy into the crowd, and that energy carried over into the second half of play. 

With a little over two minutes left to play in the game, the score was knotted up at 67. TAMUT was able to create enough space down the stretch to secure an 80-72 victory. The Crusaders put together a valiant effort and will look to carry momentum for the closing stretch of the season.

As a team, DCC shot 29-60 (48%) from the field, 8-24 (33%) from the three-point line, and 6-14 (42%) from the field. The Crusaders had 6 second chance points, 32 points in the paint, 16 bench points, and 14 points off turnovers.

Caleb Willis led the Crusaders with 16 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds on 6-13 shooting from the field. TJ Tilly Hobson scored 15 points, had 3 assists, and 5 rebounds on 7-10 shooting from the field. Jalen Perez scored 11 points and had 5 assists on 4-11 shooting from the field. Tyjuan Battles had a solid performance with 7 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds. Nico Matheus gave the Crusaders a huge lift off the bench in his season debut with 12 points. The Crusaders will face off against Ecclesia at home on Friday, Jan. 6.