AUSTIN,Texas – Five Tornados scored in double figures, led by Joe Neal's 28 points and the Concordia Texas men's basketball team closed out the regular season on a high note, defeating Sul Ross State 97-77 on Saturday.

Neal shot 8-of-12 from the field and made it count at the free throw line, knocking down 11 free throws for the game. He finished one rebound short of a double-double and added four assists and four steals.

The Tornados would get off to a slow start in the first half, falling behind 10-3 early on. As the first half came to a close though, CTX would find its groove, ending the half on a 17-3 run, including a high flying dunk from DeTarrius Kirk, and took  a 42-36 lead in the locker room at the halfway point, led by Neal's 13 first half points.

In the second half, would catch fire from the field, shooting 66 percent from the floor, including strong second half performances from Andrew Rios, who would go 3-for-3 from long range, and Philip Meikle, who finished with 14 points on the day.

Concordia Texas would maintain a double-digit lead for most of the second half and pulled away late, scoring 17 of the final 24 points, rolling past Sul Ross State 97-77.

Kirk would finish with 10 points, while Rios and Ronnie Hamilton each had 11 points for the game.

Before the contest, the Tornados celebrated senior day, honoring their four seniors, Justin Hearn, Kirk, Neal and Ephriam Price III for their individual accomplishments through their careers.

With the win, the Tornados secured the two seed in the American Southwest Conference West Division and will head to Richardson, Texas, site of the ASC Tournament.

Concordia Texas will open the tournament, facing the three seed from the east division in Louisiana College on Thursday at 5 p.m.