BELTON, Texas – The Concordia University Texas men's basketball team dropped its third consecutive American Southwest Conference (ASC) game, as Mary Hardin-Baylor picked up an 81-77 victory Saturday at Mayborn Campus Center.
Donovan Ford paced the Tornados (3-4, 0-3 ASC) with 21 points, including 15 in the second half. Ford was joined in double figures by three other Concordia Texas players.
Andre Potts logged 17 points,
Josh Sanchez tallied 13 and
Rashad Coleman added 11.
Jerard Graham registered a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cru (4-3, 2-1 ASC). Justin Gammill added 20 points and eight boards.
The Tornados started strong, building a 17-10 lead in the first half. However, UMHB fought back to tie the game at 22-all after a pair of free throws by Gammill.
Mary Hardin-Baylor held a 36-35 advantage at halftime. The two teams remained within four points for the opening first 11 minutes of the second half. Russell Green converted a traditional three-point play after making a free throw to give the Cru a 59-53 lead with 9:07 remaining. However, CTX used a 7-1 run that culminated with a Sanchez jumper to tie the game at 60-all.
The Cru got back in front and took a 75-72 lead before
Dominic Countee hit a layup after receiving a pass from Coleman under the basket. Gammill then connected on a 3-pointer from the corner that stretched the lead to four. On the ensuing possession, Coleman was fouled and hit both free throws to cut the lead in half.
Mary Hardin-Baylor found its way to the free-throw line following a Sanchez foul, but Jalen Jury missed both attempts. However, the Tornados turned the ball over and Layton Zinsmeister hit a shot from the charity stripe to push the lead to 79-76. In the final seconds, Sanchez made it back to the free-throw line, hitting one of his two attempts, but Gammill iced the contest with two free throws.
Concordia will resume action on Saturday, Dec. 20, as it hosts Louisiana College. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Concordia Fieldhouse.
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