BOX SCORE

Clarksville, Ark. – Nick Haynes scored 31 points and canned seven more shots from downtown, but it wasn't enough, as the Concordia University Texas men's basketball team suffered a 107-98 defeat against Ozarks on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the Mabee Sports Complex. The Eagles to earned their first conference victory of the season.

Ozarks (3-9, ASC 1-8) scored the opening four points and burst out to a 26-12 lead that they held for most of the half after Andrew Cummings made a layup to break a 6-6 tie. Marcus Bobb put back a miss by Carlton Gray to give his team the 14-point cushion with 10:53 left in the first half.

A 3-pointer by Chris McDermott made it a single-possession game before a layup by Darien Harris closed the gap to 32-31, and a good jumper by Darius Anderson put the Tornados ahead by a 41-39 score at the 4:01 mark. Anderson extended the lead to as high as five by driving in for a layup, but the Eagles ended the half on a 14-2 run and led 58-51 at recess.

The Eagles picked up where they left off to start the second frame by netting four straight before they were cooled off by an Anderson trey. The play brought the Tornados to life, as they came as close as two on a Haynes trifecta at the 8:47 mark. Ozarks, however, responded by netting 12 of the next 14 points to go ahead again by double figures.

Concordia made one last push in the final stages of the game to take its first lead since the closing minutes of the first half. A 3-pointer by Haynes and a Josh Johnson layup brought the margin down to one twice in the waning minutes. Despite a valiant effort by the Tornados to come back, the Eagles made six of eight free throws down the stretch to claim the nine-point win.

Haynes scored his team-leading 31 points by shooting 8-for-19 from the field, including 7-for-16 from beyond the arc, and 8-for-10 from the stripe to lead Concordia. He continues to lead the league in 3-point field goals made with 53 this winter. Darien Harris scored 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting off the bench, while Anderson netted 15 in a reserve role. Larry Durand had six assists and no turnovers.

Marcus Bobb paced Ozarks by racking up 35 points and 15 boards. Cummings and Charles Palmer also reached double-digit points with 16 and 11, respectively, while Isaiah Boxwell contributed nine points and six assists.

Concordia visits ninth-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor, which is one of only five unbeaten teams remaining in the country, on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m.