GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Concordia Texas men's basketball team took a huge first-half lead and held on down the stretch, picking up their first win of the season with an 84-79 victory over Southwestern on Sunday.
 
In a high-scoring affair, the Tornados were able to outlast the Pirates, shooting 55.2% from the field and 34.8% from deep. Antoine Henderson was the squad's leading scorer, posting 16 points and seven rebounds on an efficient 7-for-9 shooting, and Alexander Estrada added 15 points on 4-of-6 from three-point land.
 
In the first half, a jumper from DJ Pigford gave CTX a quick 6-0 lead, and the Tornados would hold an advantage for the entire period. The Pirates would hang around at the start, staying within striking distance at 13-11 at the 15:20 mark, but a bucket from Pigford and back-to-back three-pointers from Estrada and Cameron Jones extended the Tornados' lead to 21-11 with 13:27 left in the half.
 
Jaden Ross' jumper at the 6:40 mark gave the Tornados a 13-point lead, their biggest of the night, but Southwestern limited the damage as the half closed out. Concordia Texas headed to the locker room with a 45-36 lead at halftime.
 
The Pirates opened the second half with a 7-0 run, bringing the score to 45-43, but a strong finish in the paint from Luis Gonzalez halted he SWU run and extended the CTX lead to four with 17:14 left.
 
Southwestern closed the gap, tying the game at 51-51 with 14:17 remaining on the clock, but a technical foul free throw from Estrada followed by back-to-back basket from Henderson and Trevon Hester saw the Tornados regain a 56-51 lead at the 13:19 mark.
 
The two teams continued to trade buckets, but the Pirates took their first lead of the night with a pair of free throws, bringing the score to 71-69 with 3:31 left to play. Gonzalez answered with a jumper, evening the score, but another SWU free throw put them ahead 72-71 with 2:28 on the clock. Jones put the Tornados back in the lead with a basket in the paint, and Sean Phillips followed with a big three-ball to give CTX a 76-72 advantage just over two minutes remaining.
 
A three-pointer from Jones and some clutch free throws from Estrada, Gonzalez and Spencer Bone iced the game, and the Tornados ultimately took home an 84-79 win over Southwestern.
 
Gonzalez ended the game with 12 points, hitting some timely shots for CTX, and Hester turned in 13 points and a pair of assists. Jones was the leading assists man for the Tornados, adding five dishes to go along with his eight points, and Caleb Elsey cleaned the glass with a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Tornados will look towards their home opener on Saturday, hosting Schreiner in Concordia Fieldhouse at 3 p.m.