AUSTIN, Texas – Ephriam Price III produced a season-high 26 points, including a 10-0 run by himself late in the second half, to help the Concordia Texas men's basketball team pick up a 99-97 win over St. Thomas (Houston) Monday at Concordia Fieldhouse.
 
Price III, a junior from Lake Charles, La., has now increased his point total in each game this season. The Tornados are now 4-1 on the season headed into the first week of American Southwest Conference play.
 
Philip Meikle led the way for CTX in the first half, putting up 14 points and going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. He finished with 17 points and helped the Tornados shoot an impressive 62.5 percent from downtown in the half.
 
CTX led 55-42 at the break. The 55 points were the most in a half this season for the Tornados.
 
The Celts mounted a comeback in the second half with an 8-2 run to cut the lead to 72-68. The two teams traded punches and St. Thomas grabbed an 80-79 lead with 4:41 left to play.
 
Then Ephriam Price III took the game over. He hit two free throws to give CTX the lead, then knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. Price added two more from the charity stripe to give CTX an 89-80 lead with 2:57 left.
 
St. Thomas made things interesting with a 9-1 run of their own to cut the lead to thee with a minute to play, but the Tornados were able to knock down their free throws down the stretch and grab the win.
 
Ben Page was a fantastic down low, finishing just shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
 
As a team, CTX shot 51.8 percent from the floor and 60.7 percent from beyond the arc.
 
The Tornados will begin conference play Thursday with a road matchup against East Texas Baptist in Marshall, Texas beginning at 7:30 p.m.