ABILENE, Texas – Hardin-Simmons' men's basketball team fell 87-79 to UT Dallas on Saturday night at the Mabee Complex in the regular-season finale.

UTD had to win the game to make the ASC Tournament and the Comets veterans stepped up big in the second half. Michael Forster scored 19 of his game-high 32 points and Dimitrius Underwood had 12 of his 22. Underwood finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.

HSU had a strong first half and Kyle Brennon's 3-pointer gave the Cowboys a 43-28 lead with 2:52 to play in the half.

The Comets closed the gap to 44-36 at halftime with an 8-1 run to close the half and pushed the run to 22-7 to narrow the gap to 52-50. HSU responded with five straight points to push the lead to 57-50, but UTD had another run. This time it was a 16-4 run to take a 66-61 lead and UTD closed it out down the stretch.

Steven Quinn led the Cowboys with 19 points, Brennon added 16 and Chase Cobb scored 12 for HSU.  

The Cowboys are now 15-7 on the year and 10-5 in league play. UTD improved to 9-4 overall and 7-4 in conference action.

HSU will host Sul Ross State in the first round of the American Southwest Conference Tournament on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Mabee Complex.

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