Men's Basketball Downs La Verne, 95-83

LA VERNE, CA -- Texas Lutheran men's basketball had an offensive outburst in their first of three games in California, outscoring La Verne 95-83 on Wednesday night in Sports Science and Athletics Pavilion led by 22 points from Mason Wallace (San Antonio/Judson).

The Bulldogs (2-2) had five players in double figures, led by Wallace, who finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and a career-high four steals. Teddy Tapken (Austin/Lake Travis) posted 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, while Easton Allen (New Braunfels/Marion) had 17 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Semaj Edwards (Lanham, MD/Oak Hill) led the Bulldogs off the bench with 13 points and seven rebounds and Trey Blackmore (San Antonio/Cole) added ten points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Texas Lutheran shot 47.9% from the field for the game.

Texas Lutheran collected 43 rebounds in Wednesday's game compared to 33 from the Leopards. The Bulldogs put in work on the offensive glass, turning 14 offensive rebounds into 20 second chance points.

Texas Lutheran led for all but 27 seconds on Wednesday with all ties and lead changes coming early in the game.

The Bulldogs shot 52.6% from the field in the first half and was perfect from the free throw line to take a 16 point lead into halftime. The Bulldogs cruised the rest of the way, leading by as many as 24 points in the second half. The Leopards would make several attempts to rally and tie the game late, shrinking the Bulldogs lead to as little as seven points with 2:34 remaining but the Bulldogs were able to hold off the late momentum shift to hold on for the double-digit victory.

The Bulldogs California road trip continues on Friday, Nov. 22 as they travel to Orange, California to face an undefeated Chapman University squad. Tip-off is set for 9 PM CST/ 7 PM PST from Harold Hutton Sports Center. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.

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