BOX SCORE

Austin, Texas – Tayler Jacobs posted 17 points and Darius Anderson netted 16 off the bench to propel the Concordia University Texas men's basketball team to a convincing 110-81 victory over Howard Payne on Saturday, Feb. 5 at the Concordia Field House. The Tornados eclipsed the 100-point mark for the eighth time this season to remain in fourth place in the American Southwest Conference West Division with a three-and-a-half game cushion over fifth-place Texas Lutheran.

Concordia got a 3-pointer from Nick Haynes on its first possession and never looked back. The Yellow Jackets' Rashad Deal created the game's only tie at 7-all with 16:35 to play before the Tornados took control for the rest of the game. Chris McDermott canned a jumper to give his team a 25-13 advantage at the midway point of the half, and the lead grew to 20 in the frame on an Anderson trifecta with 39 seconds on the clock. Brandon Irwin answered with a layup on the other end to create the 55-37 halftime score.

Howard Payne (5-16, ASC 4-13), which was eliminated from playoff contention by dropping a 115-69 decision to Mary Hardin-Baylor on Thursday, would come no closer than 18 points the rest of the way after Jacobs and Kenny Williams made layups in the opening minute of the second half. The lead grew to 30 on a Jacobs jumper which made it 87-57 at the 9:58 mark and as many as 32 on three occasions, allowing the Tornados to run away with their third straight win.

In addition to netting 17 points, Jacobs added four assists and three steals to lead Concordia. Anderson scored his 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field, including 2-for-3 from long range, and by going a perfect 2-for-2 from the line. Chris McOmber had a career afternoon with 12 points and nine boards off the bench. Williams added 12 points and five assists, while Josh Johnson had seven points and 12 rebounds. Howard Payne was paced by Brandon Irwin, the West Division Preseason Player of the Year, who finished with 27 points.

Concordia (13-8, ASC 11-6) will look to lock up its fifth straight playoff berth when it visits McMurry on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.