HOUSTON — Schreiner University men's basketball team finally closed a game out.
Finishing games has been a struggle all season for the Mountaineers, but Schreiner turned the tables at St. Thomas University for an 87-85 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference victory on Friday night.
Jalen Ned scored a season-high 25 points for the Mountaineers, who shot 51% from the field. Ned was particularly clutch in the final seconds by making 3-of-4 free throws. The Mountaineers sealed the win with a steal by Kamden Ross.
The back-and-forth game featured 11 ties and eight lead changes.
The victory snapped Schreiner's five-game losing streak (seven if you count the two losses in Division I exhibitions), and it came at the right time as the Mountaineers head into the teeth of their conference schedule.
The Mountaineers play at Colorado College in Colorado Springs on Sunday afternoon before returning to Texas to play Southwestern in Georgetown on Jan. 7. Southwestern will then turn around and play the Mountaineers in Kerrville on Jan. 8.
Schreiner is 1-2 in SCAC play, but the Mountaineers could easily be 3-0 in conference play. Schreiner lost the season-opener to Trinity in overtime, then had a 3-point loss at Texas Lutheran.
On Friday night, the trio of Allen, Darian Gibson and Kamden Ross — all first-year players in the program — scored in double figures. Gibson scored 19 points — his third-best scoring effort of the season — and his 3-point shooting helped boost the Mountaineers. Gibson hit four 3-pointers. The Mountaineers continued to struggle from 3-point range, hitting just six on the night.
Ross scored 14, including 10 in the second half.
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