BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Concordia Texas men's basketball team fell in a wire-to-wire game that required overtime, coming away on the wrong end of a 102-96 loss to Howard Payne on Saturday.
 
The Tornados and the Yellow Jackets traded runs throughout the game, and 40 minutes could not decide a winner as two HPU free throws forced an 84-84 tie and overtime. The Tornados were outscored 18-12 in overtime, ultimately falling to Howard Payne.
 
Alexander Estrada led the Tornados' scoring, posting a career-high 21 points on 5-of-11 shooting from deep, and Donovan Stafford wasn't far behind, scoring 19 points to go along with six rebounds and two blocks on the defensive end.
 
In the first half, the Tornados ran off to a hot start, taking an 8-0 lead in the opening two minutes as Luis Gonzalez finished at the rim.
 
Howard Payne answered, taking a 14-11 lead at the 12:12 mark, but back-to-back field goals from Stafford put CTX back ahead at 15-14.
 
In the final ten minutes, Jaden Ross and Sean Phillips supplied five points each, and a layup from Phillips in the final seconds gave the Tornados a 33-31 lead heading into the break.
 
Howard Payne opened the second half on a tear, taking a 45-35 lead with 17:13 on the clock, but five consecutive points from Ross cut down some distance, bringing the score to 45-40 with 16:31 remaining.
 
After trailing since the 19:03 mark, the Tornados battled back to even the score with 10:55 to go, an Estrada three-ball making the score 57-57.
 
Stafford contributed seven points in the final five minutes of regulation, helping the Tornados keep pace with his hot shooting.
 
Trevon Hester hit a pair of clutch free throws with 22 second to go, giving CTX an 84-82 lead, but Howard Payne came back with two free throws of their own, tying the game at 84-84 and forcing overtime.
 
A Phillips three-pointer got things started in overtime, but Howard Payne was quick to answer, taking a 94-89 lead with 2:06 remaining.
 
Another Estrada three-ball followed by a bucket in the paint from Stafford brought the Tornados within striking distance at 99-96 with 24 seconds to go, but HPU did not falter at the free throw line down the stretch. Ultimately, Concordia Texas fell 102-96.
 
Now that they have closed out their four-game stint on the road, the Tornados will return home for their final three games of the regular season, starting with a matchup against Mary Hardin-Baylor on Monday at 7:30 p.m.