BOX SCORE

Austin, Texas – Tayler Jacobs scored a career-high 21 points to lead five Tornado players in double figures while also adding eight rebounds and six assists to lead the Concordia University men's basketball team to a 119-106 win over Ozarks on Saturday, Jan. 8 at the Concordia Field House. The Tornados got 63 points from their bench and moved into a tie for third place in the West Division with the victory.

The first half was tightly contested, featuring eight ties and three lead changes between the teams. Jacobs converted a conventional three-point play to break the eighth tie of the game and put Concordia ahead for good by a 30-27 score with 6:19 left to play in the opening period. Chris McDermott canned a 3-pointer to give Concordia its first double-digit lead, 51-39, before the Eagles rattled off five straight to close out the half.

Trailing by a 51-44 score at the break, Ozarks (4-10, ASC 1-8) scored the first four points of the second half on a tip-in by Kasey Lewis followed by two free throws from Jermery Victor to climb back into the game. However, the Tornados scored the next 10 to give themselves a large cushion the rest of the way. Jacobs had eight of the 10 points, including two 3-pointers, and an assist during the stretch.

After the Eagles sliced the deficit to single digits, the Tornados went on another 9-0 run to take a 70-52 advantage and seize control for the rest of the way. Hunter Martin, who was playing in his second game as a Tornado, capped the stretch with one of his two trifectas. Concordia led by as many as 21 points when Jacobs found Josh Johnson for a fastbreak layup before running away with the convincing 13-point win.

In addition to Jacobs, who also registered four steals, Concordia also got strong contributions from Johnson, McDermott and Darius Anderson. Johnson registered a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards, while McDermott netted a career-best 18 points to go along with four assists off the bench. Anderson netted 14 points, while Justin Reefer finished with 10, as the Tornados registered their highest point total since defeating Howard Payne by a 119-74 score on Jan. 26, 2008. Ozarks, which had six players net double figures, was led by Marcus Bobb and Andre Williams. Bobb posted a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Williams finished with a game-high 22 points.

Concordia (7-5, ASC 5-3), will conclude its three-game homestand in a rematch against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Monday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. The Tornados trailed by 20 points in the second half before rallying to defeat the Cru, 89-85, last Monday in Belton.