BOX SCORE MARSHALL, Texas – The Concordia Texas men's basketball team opened 2016 on a positive note, grabbing a 101-90 victory in overtime at 15th-ranked East Texas Baptist Saturday afternoon.
Not only did the Tornados (6-4, 1-0 ASC) snap a three-game skid-- they also put an end to the Tigers' (8-3, 2-1) 26-game home winning streak.
Concordia shut down ETBU in the extra period, outscoring the Tigers 17-6. The Tornados went 6-of-10 from the floor in overtime while holding ETBU to just 2-of-9.
Donovan Ford scored a game-high 27 points for Concordia in the victory. He was 9-of-13 overall from the floor, including 7-of-11 from 3-point range. As a team, the Tigers were 8-of-23 from beyond the arc.
"(Ford) played big for us today. Obviously he hit some big shots but what I was really proud of was his defensive effort. He really worked hard on that side of the ball and did a great job harassing ETBU's backcourt," head coach Stan Bonewitz said of the senior guard.
Payton Brown-Simon and Demarco Richardson joined Ford in double figures, both adding 10 points to the effort.
The Tornado bench outscored the Tigers' reserves 65-19. Additionally, Concordia cashed in 33 points off 29 ETBU turnovers.
The contest saw 11 ties and 12 lead changes. After going into halftime up 46-45, the Tornados found themselves trailing by 14 at 63-41 with 15:21 left in regulation as the Tigers opened the second half on a 18-3 run. Concordia rallied out of the media timeout for a 21-2 spurt to get within three at 65-62 with just over 11 minutes left. Concordia stretched that rally to 29-5 as they took a 70-68 lead with 9:13 on the clock.
Over the half's final minutes, the teams would battle back-and-forth. Then, ETBU's Bret Atkins tied the game after at 84 as he nailed two free throws with 48 seconds left. The Tigers would have a chance to potentially win the game as they were on the charity stripe with one second remaining, but Junior Mitchell missed both free throws. Rashad Coleman grabbed the rebound, sending the game into overtime.
It was the Tornados' first overtime victory since a 92-81 triumph over Sul Ross State on Jan. 24, 2015, and the first win over a ranked opponent since Dec. 14, 2013, when Concordia knocked off then-No. 20 UMHB, 96-93.
Concordia also avenged its loss to ETBU in the American Southwest Conference Tournament championship game last year. Additionally, it was CTX's first win over the Tigers in Marshall since Jan. 4, 2014, when the Tornados took home an 88-78 victory in overtime.
The Tornados wrap up their five-game, three-state, two-year road trip Saturday at Louisiana College. Tip-off is slated for approximately 7:30 p.m.
