DALLAS, TX-- The Dallas Christian College Men's Basketball Team (1-0) opened up the season with an 81-77 victory at home against North American University (0-1) Emmanuel Bland picks up his first win as a head coach in a fast pace, wire-to wire game. The Crusaders used a balanced attack to grind out a win to start the season off on the right foot against an NAIA team. 

The Crusaders controlled the game from start to finish and were able to hold on to an 81-77 lead. DCC played with pace and sped the game up using speed and athleticism to tire out the opposing team. DCC had high flying dunks, crisp passing, and lights out three point shooting in the first half. 

In the scond half NAU battled back to within 3 points with 2 minutes left. Ny'gel Boozer came up with a huge block off a turnover to keep his team in the lead. Blake Walker knocked down 2 free-throws to ice the game for his team to grasp an 81-77 victory. 

The Crusaders had 4 players in double figures: Ny'gel Boozer had 14 points, 3 turnovers, 3 assists, and 6 rebounds. Yuot Gai had 10 points and 7 rebounds, Nico Matheus had 14 points and 6 rebounds. Carlas Canady had 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. 

DCC had 11 second chance points, 39 bench points, 24 points in the paint, and 14 points off turnovers. DCC shot 29-70 (41%) from the field, 14-35 (40%) from the three-point line, and 75 % (9-12) from the free-throw line. The Crusaders will be on the road on Saturday at 3 p.m. against UNT-Dallas.