BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Concordia Texas men's basketball team forced 30 turnovers leading to 25 points and finished the regular season on a high note, defeating Howard Payne 87-81 on Saturday inside the Brownwood Coliseum.
Offensively
Philip Meikle led the Tornados, producing a team-high 19 points, including shooting 50 percent from 3-point land, while
Zaid Harris had 14 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds.
In the first half, CTX struggled offensively from the floor, shooting at a 38 percent mark, but made it count at the free-throw line, hitting 11-of-15.
After trailing 9-4 early in the period, the Tornados scored eight straight points including back-to-back buckets from
Antoine Henderson to take a 12-9 lead. Henderson finished the game with eight points and added five rebounds.
The Yellow Jackets pulled even at 27-all late in the first half but CTX was quick respond, going on an 11-4 run capped off by an
Alexander Estrada 3-pointer at the 2:20 mark for their biggest lead of the half.
At halftime, the Tornados held the slight edge at 40-39.
In the second half, CTX found their shooting stroke, finishing 48 percent from the field, including going 6-of-10 from behind the arc.
Meikle led the charge, scoring 15 of his 19 points in the second half alone. He gave the Tornados a double-digit advantage at the 13:22 mark after hitting a 3-pointer.
Howard Payne did not go away though, cutting CTX's lead to five at 56-51. The Tornados persevered and reeled off an 8-2 run and took their largest lead of the day after a pair of
Quinton Williamson free throws.
Concordia Texas held off a late Yellow Jackets comeback and ended the regular season with an 87-81 win.
The Tornados finish the season 12-13, 7-9 in conference play and secure the number two seed in the American Southwest Conference Tournament after beginning the year with five straight conference losses.
Concordia Texas will travel to Alpine, Texas for the ASC Tournament, where they will face East Texas Baptist in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at noon.
