BOX SCORE
Clinton, Miss. – Using hot shooting from
Nick Haynes in the first half and
Darius Anderson in the second, the Concordia University Texas men's basketball team rallied to earn a 93-86 win over Mississippi College on Saturday, Dec. 11 at the A.E. Wood Coliseum. The Tornados quickly erased a five-point halftime deficit by scoring the first eight points of the second frame en route to registering their first-ever road victory against the Choctaws.
Josh Johnson sank a running jumper to give the Tornados a 47-46 advantage, their first lead since the 14:44 mark of the opening stanza, and
Darien Harris drove in for a layup after swiping the ball away from Chad Jones to cap the team's 8-0 run to start the second half. Mississippi (4-3, ASC 3-2) was able to tie the game at 60 on a Cameron Bounds layup with 12:37 on the clock, but Anderson gave the visitors the lead for good by scoring three of his 12 second-half points on Concordia's next possession.
Connor Davenport sparked the Tornados on the defensive end when he took one of four charges against a flying Ken Black, who came sailing in from the right side for a one-handed dunk. The next time down the floor,
Kenny Williams canned a 3-pointer from the right arc which gave the visitors control of the contest and a 74-67 lead with eight minutes to play.
The Choctaws went ahead for the first time in the second half courtesy of Cameron Bounds, who finished a pass from Pierre Hadley. However, it was short lived as
Collin Perkins immediately converted a conventional three-point play on the other end to put the Tornados ahead for the rest of the game.
Donald Lee ran in down the right side for a layup and made two free throws in the waning seconds to produce the final score.
Beginning with a pair of free throws by Haynes, the opening six minutes of the game was a seesaw battle which featured three ties and nine lead changes. After the first media timeout, Greg Pulliam kicked off a 15-2 run for the Choctaws, giving the hosts a lead they would carry into the recess before the Tornados would seize momentum for the final 20 minutes.
Haynes scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half and also finished with three rebounds and two steals to lead Concordia. Anderson added a career-best 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting.
Tayler Jacobs and Johnson finished with 12 points apiece, while Jacobs added seven assists.
Justin Reefer registered eight points, five rebounds and three steals. Mississippi's Puliam led six Choctaws in double figures with 16 points. Marlon Ester and Hadley contributed 15 points apiece, while Hadley also had five assists.
Concordia (4-3, ASC 3-2) will break for final exams before hosting the CTX Holiday Tournament from Dec. 29-31. The Tornados open the three-day event against Wisconsin-Platteville on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
