BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Concordia University Texas men's basketball team nearly erased a 12-point deficit in the final three minutes of Saturday's American Southwest Conference (ASC), but Howard Payne was able to hold off the late surge and collect a 91-87 victory at Brownwood Coliseum.
The Yellow Jackets (2-3, 2-0 ASC) held an 85-73 advantage with 2:56 to play. However, the Tornados (3-3, 0-2 ASC) reeled off a 14-3 run that culminated in a
Donovan Ford 3-pointer with to cut the deficit to 88-87 with 0:13 remaining.
Ford was fouled on the final triple, but unable to knock down the free throw and Concordia Texas was forced to foul.
Howard Payne hit both shots from the charity stripe to push the lead to 90-87. The Tornados then missed a 3-pointer which would have tied the game on the ensuing possession. Khyce Randall was fouled after the Yellow Jackets secured the rebound, and he hit one of two free throws to seal the contest.
Ford, who had a team-high 18 points in the contest, hit a trio of 3-pointers in the final run. He was joined in double figures by four other CTX players –
Rashad Coleman (17 points),
Josh Sanchez (15),
Jeromy Bynum (11) and
Andre Potts (10).
Concordia shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64) from the field, but hit only 27.3 percent (6-of-22). The Tornados trailed 53-42 at halftime.
Brandon Gould paced Howard Payne with a game-high 29 points.
CTX will resume conference play on Saturday, Dec. 13, as the squad travels to I-35 rival Mary Hardin-Baylor (3-3, 1-1 ASC). Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.
