IRVING, Texas - Senior guard Kyle Keranen (Hartland, Wis.) scored all of his game-high 24 points in the second half - including five 3-point baskets - but the Carroll University men's basketball team lost to the University of Dallas 72-67 in a physical, hard-fought nonconference game at the Maher Center on Thursday evening.
It was the opening contest of a two-game, holiday break road trip to the Lonestar state for Carroll, which lost its second straight to drop to 6-4 overall.
The Pioneers trailed 44-25 at halftime but made a valiant, scrappy comeback by outscoring University of Dallas 42-28 over the course of the final 20 minutes.
The game remained tied 66-66 with 1:45 remaining but Carroll struggled to finish on several baskets down the stretch and fell victim to a decisive 6-1 run.
Despite the difficult road loss, the 6-foot-1 Keranen reached a prestigious career milestone - eclipsing the 1,000-point plateau to become only the 17th player in the history of the men's program to accomplish the impressive feat.
Keranen, who came into the game with 982 points and currently has 1,006, reached the mark by finishing on a fast-break layup to trim the deficit to 63-61 with 6:33 left.
Sophomore guard Ben Widdes (Rice Lake, Wis.) followed with 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals for Carroll, which made eight 3-pointers, converted 13 of 16 free throws and shot 39 percent from field-goal range.
Freshman forward Kale Maupin (Peotone, Ill.) had eight points, four rebounds and two assists for the Pioneers, who were outrebounded 22-21. Freshman guard Nick Penny (Lake Zurich, Ill.) and sophomore forward/center Tyler Ingebrigtsen (Elk Grove Village, Ill.) each added five points.
Senior guard Michael Sarrat scored a team-high 16 points, senior center Tom Kaiser chipped in 14 points and sophomore forward Prince Giadolor had 13 points for University of Dallas, which improved to 4-5 overall by making eight 3-pointers, 8 of 15 free throws and shooting 46 percent from the field.
It was the 90th career victory for Crusader head coach Jarred Samples.
