BOX SCORE

Austin, Texas – Donald Lee converted two free throws in the waning seconds of overtime to lift the Concordia University Texas men's basketball team to a thrilling 92-91 overtime victory over Texas-Dallas on Thursday, Jan. 5 at the UTD Activities Center. The Tornados set a school record for free throw percentage since joining the American Southwest Conference and NCAA Division III ranks in 1999 by missing only one of their 21 attempts.

Texas-Dallas (9-3, ASC 5-3) built up a nine-point lead over the first five minutes of the second frame at 51-42, but Concordia, which trailed the entire first half, came back and was able to tie the score for the first time since the opening tip at 56s on a three-point play the old-fashioned way by Darius Anderson with the clock reading 12:08. The Comets, however, did not give up the lead and were boosted by a Matthew Medell's jump shot.before Chris McDermott created the third tie of the game at 58-58 shortly slightly after the midway point.

Shortly after the second media timeout, Greg Brown put the Tornados ahead for the first time by finishing a pass from Kenny Williams. But the lead was short lived, as, Chris Barnes scored on the next play to create another tie and spark a 5-0 run for the Comets.

The teams continued to play leap frog the rest of the way, setting up a photo finish. With under two minutes remaining, Anderson fed Donald Lee for a layup to make it 77-76 in favor of the Tornados. After Dmitiry Chernikov missed consecutive free throws, Nick Haynes kept up his pace as the league's top 3-point shooter by making  his fifth of the game at the 1:08 mark.

Texas-Dallas made it interesting and got two free throws from Barnes to cut the Tornado lead to 80-78, forcing the visitors to call a timeout. After the teams returned to the floor, McDermott missed a jumper and a chance to all but ice the game. But with a chance to tie the game, Medell missed the front end of two free throws.

The Tornados got the ball back with 13 seconds left and went ahead by three when Lee canned two free throws. Kyle Schleigh, however, hit a dagger from downtown and sent the game into overtime with the teams tied at 82.

Anderson, whose long attempt at the end of regulation as the buzzer sounded was no good, scored the first four points of the extra session at the free throw line. After Carter Nash scored at the other end, McDermott converted a layup which kept the visitors ahead.

Concordia (7-4, ASC 5-2) continued to stay on top, as Anderson put back a Lee miss to break an 88-88 tie with 40 seconds left. Texas-Dallas earned its first lead of the overtime when Schleigh finished a missed free throw by Nash, but two free throws by Lee with three seconds left sealed the deal and a one-point win.

Texas-Dallas scored the opening six points of the contest and never surrendered the lead despite being challenged by Concordia the entire way. A 3-pointer by Nick Haynes gave the Tornados their first field goal at the 15:21 mark.

Concordia came within a basket on multiple occasions before the midway point, but a layup followed by a free throw from Chernikov allowed the hosts to gain a 29-21 cushion with 6:36 left. The Tornados came within two thanks to free throws by Anderson before finding themselves down by a 40-36 score at the half.

Anderson fell just shy of a triple-double with 26 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Tornados, who shot a whopping 95.2 percent (20-for-21) from the free throw line. He made all 11 of his shots from the charity stripe and had four steals. Haynes and Lee netted 17 and 16 points, respectively.

The Comets were led by Schleigh's double-double performance. He had 30 points and 14 rebounds. Greg Chiasson scored 17 points, while Medell netted 13.

Concordia, which has won seven of its last nine games and three straight ASC contests, visits Ozarks on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 3 p.m.

Game Notes: Concordia defeated Texas-Dallas for the first time since earning an 89-78 victory in the 2008 American Southwest Conference Tournament … It was also the Tornados' first win over the Comets on the road since registering a 75-72 win on Dec. 15, 2007 … The last Concordia overtime win was a 102-99 triumph over LeTourneau on Jan. 5, 2008 … Tonight also marked the Tornados' first overtime win on the road since earning a 91-85 victory at Schreiner on Jan. 25, 2007 … Concordia also set a program record for best free throw percentage since gaining full ASC and NCAA Division III membership in 1999 … The Tornados' 95.2 percent shooting performance beat the 93.8 clip recorded on Feb. 3, 2005 against Sul Ross State.