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Belton, Texas – Dwayne Patterson registered his fourth straight double-double, but the Concordia University Texas men's basketball team fell to Mary Hardin-Baylor in a battle for American Southwest Conference West Division supremacy by a 98-95 score on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at the Mayborn Campus Center. The Tornados, who rallied to take the lead despite trailing by as many as 18 points in the second half, had their eight-game winning streak snapped with the loss.

Concordia, which trailed 45-43 at the break, quickly tied the score up by getting a bucket from Darien Harris. Mary Hardin-Baylor, however, scored five straight points and 10 of the next 12 to go ahead by double figures again. Meals sank a 3-pointer to give the Cru a 57-47 advantage before an Antonie Chaney jumper ballooned the margin to 18.

But the Tornados, who are leading the league in scoring for the seventh straight season, used their prolific offense to fight back. Concordia slashed the deficit down to four on two occasions after the last media timeout by getting baskets from Corprew and Patterson. After James Allen responded with a bucket on the other end, Jared Galvan and Patterson combined to make three free throws to make it 87-84 with 2:22 left. An Albert Kusi putback cut the lead to one, and a Haynes trifecta followed by a created a Sanchez layup gave the Tornados their first lead since early in the first half at 91-90 to set up a photo finish.

The teams would exchange the lead several times before it was all over. Another layup by Allen put the Cru back ahead by one, but Sanchez answered on the other end to give Concordia a 93-92 edge with 1:04 left. But Todd created the fourth lead change in a one-minute span by nailing a field goal on the other end.

Concordia still had the ball with 36.4 seconds left with a chance to regain the lead. Patterson took  a sharp pass from Sanchez down low and got a good look, but his shot off the backboard was a little too strong. Thomas Orr came away with the rebound, and the Cru made free throws in the remaining seconds to escape with the win.

Concordia started the game off on fire by scoring the first eight points. The Crusaders, however, answered with a 11-3 run and tied the game on a Brian Todd dunk. After a Patterson jumper broke a 13-all tie, Mary Hardin-Baylor took its first lead by getting a 3-pointer from Thomas Orr that made it 16-15. Todd followed with a layup, prompting Concordia to take a timeout with 12:48 left.

The Tornados hung around but were unable to regain the lead before the break despite getting nine straight points from Josh Sanchez, including a trifecta that created a 23-22 score at one point. A Cory Meals layup pushed the Cru lead up to double figures during a 19-5 run. Concordia, however, fought back by putting together a 16-3 run to end the half. Patterson brought the margin down to just two points by scoring the last six of the frame, which began with a dunk off a pass out-of-bounds from Terry Corprew.

Patterson finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds to pace Concordia. Sanchez finished with 25 points as well and also contributed six assists and six rebounds.

Mary Hardin-Baylor (11-3, ASC 7-1), which ended the evening alone in first place in the division standings, was led by Todd and Orr. Both players netted 25 points, while  Todd also finished with six boards, four assists and four steals.

Concordia (10-3, ASC 6-2) hosts Hardin-Simmons in a pivotal ASC West Division matchup on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m.