Curtis Davis put a career-high 27 points on the board, but UW-Stevens Point held on to halt the Comets from advancing any further Friday night in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The 74-67 loss brought an abrupt end to the Comets’ second-straight trip to the “Sweet 16” round of the playoffs for the national championship.

“I’m so proud of the way our kids played out there,” said UT Dallas coach Terry Butterfield. “It came down to making plays, and our kids did a great job of persevering and making some.”

The Comets’ attempt to clone last year’s “Elite Eight” appearance fell just short as the Pointers shot a staggering 58 percent from the field throughout.

UT Dallas rallies put the Comets within 3 points of their opponents at several junctures. 

Davis and Chris Barnes teamed up 2 minutes into the second half to score 24 points. Davis drilled a trio of 3-point shots during the stretch, including a crowd-quieting fallaway from the right corner, and Barnes tallied six straight points off back-to-back conventional three-point plays.

Davis was 11 of 17 from the field and missed only one of his five hurls from beyond the arc. He chipped in with six rebounds, two assists and two steals during UT Dallas’ second-half push.

“Curtis performed magnificently,” said Butterfield. “His effort tonight is indicative of the competitive player that he is. He just put us on his back tonight.”

Barnes and leading scorer Scott Rodgers each registered 11 points, Jordan Eppink tossed in 10 and Jared Fleming contributed eight. Fleming doled out a game-high six assists.

The loss concluded the collegiate careers of five Comets — Rodgers, Eppink, Fleming, Garrett Hillen and Andy Maish.

Eppink entered the UT Dallas record books this season as the school’s all-time leading rebounder, while Hillen compiled more blocks than any other player in program history. Rodgers led the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game en route to earning ASC All-Conference honors.