BOX SCORE

Seguin, Texas – Darius Anderson led four Tornados in double figures with 17 points, but the Concordia University Texas men's basketball team fell on the road to Texas Lutheran by an 85-80 score on Thursday, Feb. 16 at the Memorial Gymnasium. Despite the loss, the Tornados can still make their sixth straight appearance in the American Southwest Conference Tournament if they can win at Schreiner on Saturday afternoon.

Concordia (13-11, ASC 11-9) dominated from the opening tip and took a commanding 15-3 lead at the 15:06 mark on two straight Larry Durand 3-pointers. A layup by Michael Flores trimmed the deficit to single digits, but the Tornados responded and doubled up the Bulldogs on the scoreboard, 22-11, at the midway point when Darius Anderson made a jumper. The Tornados held off the Bulldogs over the final 10 minutes of the half and led 39-38 at the break, as Anderson made a free throw in the final minute to break the game's first tie.

After Jarell English sank two free throws to give Texas Lutheran (11-13, ASC 10-10) its first lead of the game 49 seconds into the second half, Concordia came back and scored five straight on a Nick Haynes trey and a Durand jumper. The Bulldogs, however, gained control and led 48-45 at the first media timeout thanks to a George Davis 3-pointer from the top of the key.

The game continued to stay competitive throughout the second half, as the teams continued to exchange leads. Concordia went up 63-58 on a 3-pointer by Donald Lee from the left corner, but the hosts tied the score at 66s when English drove down the right side for a layup and took a one-point advantage on an Isaac Williams free throw. George Davis followed with a long ball from the right arc, making it 70-66 with under five to play.

Durand sank a free throw to make it a one-possession game, but the Bulldogs scored the next five to begin pulling away. The Tornados cut the lead down to four on a Haynes 3-pointer with 2:10 on the clock, but eventually they were forced to foul to give the Bulldogs extra points.

The Tornados continued to fight and found themselves down by only three after Haynes drilled two of his three attempts from the charity stripe with 14 seconds left. Darien Harris then deflected the inbounds pass to force a jump ball and give the Tornados a chance. But Albert Kusi missed the game-tying 3-point attempt, allowing Justin Lindsey to ice the game at the other end.

In addition to Anderson's 17 points, Concordia got strong contributions from Haynes, Durand and Lee. Haynes finished with 15 points, while Durand netted 14 and added three assists. Lee scored 13, which included shooting 5-for-7 from the field.

Texas Lutheran was led by English's 12 points, which included making all eight of his free throw attempts, and four rebounds. Matthew Agonis, Flores and Davis scored 11 apiece, while Flores also registered five assists and four steals.

Concordia will visit Schreiner on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. The winner will earn a trip to the American Southwest Conference Tournament as the fourth and final seed out of the West Division.