BOX SCORE

Marshall, Texas – Nick Haynes and Dwayne Patterson combined to score 50 points to lead the Concordia University Texas men's basketball team to an 87-82 victory against East Texas Baptist on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Omelas Gymnasium. The Tornados extended their winning streak to a record-breaking eight straight games.

Fueled by 3-point field goals from Larry Durand and Nick Haynes, Concordia started the game on a 10-1 run and never looked back. Kerry McClahan netted the Tigers' first field goal of the game at the 17:46 mark, but Haynes answered right back with another three to put the Tornados back ahead by twin figures at 13-3.

Josh Sanchez later set up Terry Corprew for a trey to put Concordia up by two touchdowns at 21-7, prompting an ETBU timeout before the first media break, and the lead ballooned to 20 points on another Haynes 3-point field goal that gave the Tornados a 35-15 advantage. A layup bu McClahan closed the gap to 53-38 at the break.

East Texas Baptist (6-7, ASC 2-5) was able to slow down the high-flying Tornado offense in the second half. The Tigers trimmed the deficit to single digits when a CJ Jones layup made it 59-50, and he later hit a free throw to make it a six-point game before the midway point of the frame. But Concordia shook off the run and went ahead by double figures again at 65-55 courtesy of two free throws from Haynes. A trio of 3-pointers made by Chris Collins and Monty Grays in the last 75 seconds was too little and too late, allowing the Tornados to come away with the five-point win.

Dwayne Patterson registered a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead Concordia. He also had two steals. Haynes poured in 25 points, which included draining another five shots from downtown,  and added five boards, two assists and two steals. Corprew and Sanchez finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively, while Sanchez also dished out five assists.

East Texas Baptist got strong outings from McClahan, Grays and Collins. McClahan had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Grays scored 12 points. Collins contributed 11 points and four rebounds.

Concordia (10-2, ASC 6-1) will visit rival Mary Hardin-Baylor with first-place bragging rights in the American Southwest Conference West Division on the line on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m.