BOX SCORE AUSTIN, Texas -- The Concordia Texas men's basketball team held Mary Hardin-Baylor to a sub-45 percent shooting clip Saturday afternoon as the Tornados grabbed a 97-92 win at home.
Concordia (11-9, 5-5 ASC) managed to pull off the dramatic victory in a contest where the Cru 7-14, 3-8) hit 44 free throws while the Tornados attempted just 27, sinking 22.
"I was pleased with the way we shot the ball. I thought that we did a good job of it. You really have to cash in when you get to the free throw line," head coach
Stan Bonewitz said.
"We're on a bit of a streak right now with shooting the ball well. You've got to have those free throws, especially when you're playing a team as physical as Mary Hardin-Baylor that is going to be physical on both sides of the ball. You have to take advantage of free opportunities. They did a good job of getting to the line and doing that, but fortunately for us we got some buckets at key times."
Josh Samuels led the way for CTX, collecting 19 points, including five triples.
Donovan Ford tallied 16 while
Dervyn Baines ended the day with 15. Baines also pulled down a game-best 13 rebounds.
Rashad Coleman led the starters with 10 points.
"I talked to Josh this week and I don't actually think it was that bad of advice. I told him to quit trying to make every shot. He can shoot the ball well, but I feel like he's been pressed. He's been trying to put every ball in the hole and you just can't shoot that way. Shooters have to shoot and you take a good shot and hopefully it goes in. You have to put the reps in before hand and prepare yourself," Bonewitz added.
Ford became the fastest player in a Concordia uniform to sink 100 career 3-pointers. His 100th make of his Tornado tenure came at the 18:42 mark of the second half. It was also the 1,000th point of his career between both Howard Payne and Concordia.
"Donovan has worked really hard. He worked hard this summer. He's really good about being unselfish. He came over to us last year and he didn't come over with any agenda besides trying to help us win. He's played that role perfectly and he's hit some big shots for us," Bonewitz said.
The Tornados return to the hardwood Monday evening at 7:30 against Ozarks.
