MARSHALL, Texas – Five players reached double figures, as the sixth-seeded Concordia University Texas men's basketball team used a huge first half to knock off No. 3 seed Louisiana College 96-82 in the American Southwest Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon at Ornelas Gymnasium.
The Tornados (17-9) shot 54.4 percent (31-of-57) from the floor, including 55 percent in the second half.
Rashad Coleman led the way 21 points and seven rebounds. He was joined in double digits by
Andre Potts (18 points),
Josh Sanchez (16),
Brett DeMetrotion (10) and
Ben Page (10).
Concordia Texas sprinted out of the gates, opening up a 21-8 advantage in the first eight minutes. The Wildcats (14-10) were able to pull within nine points twice in the next three minutes, but a 7-0 run by the Tornados pushed the lead to 35-19 for CTX.
Concordia used another 7-0 spurt to push ahead 45-23 with 5:49 to play in the first half. Coleman connected on a pair of free throws with 1:38 left in the period to give the Tornados a 57-33 advantage. Louisiana College then scored five straight points to pull within 57-38 at halftime.
In the first six minutes of the second half, Concordia kept applying pressure and increased its lead to 71-45 following two more free throws from Coleman. After the two teams split the next eight points, the Tornados went scoreless for nearly six minutes until DeMetrotion cracked the seal on a pair of free throws. During the scoreless streak, the Wildcats went on a 13-0 run to pull within 75-62.
After Anthony Gaines Jr. hit a layup to trim the lead to 77-66, Concordia answered with a 7-2 spurt that pushed the advantage back to 16. However, Louisiana College scored 11 of the next 15 points to get as close as nine with 2:43 to play. Sanchez responded with a layup and
Terry Corprew made back-to-back free throws to increase the lead to 92-79 with 1:43 remaining. The Tornados scored four of the final seven points to clinch the contest and advance to the semifinal round.
Concordia connected on 26-of-29 free throws (89.7 percent) in the game. The Tornados also dished out 16 assists on their 31 buckets.
Concordia will meet the winner of No. 2 seed Hardin-Simmons and seventh-seeded Texas-Dallas at 5 p.m. Friday.
