AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas men's basketball team, who defeated Belhaven in their regular season finale to qualify for their eighth-straight American Southwest Conference Tournament, will face top-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor on Thursday in the quarterfinal round.

The Tornados head into the conference tourney after finishing the regular season with a 9-14, 6-13 ASC record, clinching the eighth seed. They will take on the Cru of UMHB, who sit atop the league standings with a 22-2, 17-2 ASC record and have won their last 10 contests.

In their last matchup, Alexander Estrada knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, but CTX fell short to the Cru 82-73.

The Tornados will look to return to form on the court after opening the season undefeated inside Concordia Fieldhouse through the team's first six home games, including wins over UT Dallas and LeTourneau back on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19, respectively.

Concordia Texas suffered a 10-game losing skid after a win over Sul Ross State back on Jan. 8, including five of them decided by six points or less. The Tornados returned to the win column with a senior day 96-62 victory over the Blazers on Saturday.

Concordia Texas will have an array of weapons to utilize on the court with four players averaging double figures in scoring.

Luis Gonzalez is the team's leading scorer averaging 14.3 points a game. The junior out of Carolina, Puerto Rico has been consistent for the Tornados throughout the season, posting a season-high 26-point performance against Ozarks back on Jan. 22.

Meanwhile, a pair of freshman, DJ Pigford and Donovan Stafford, have made immediate impacts for CTX.

Pigford has increased his presence on the court throughout the season, being lethal in the paint and behind the arc. The Grand Prairie, Texas native has reached double figures in 11 of his last 12 games, including going 10-of-16 from the field for a career-high 23-point showing vs. the Eagles.

Stafford has worked his way into the starting lineup in the second half of the season and is second on the team in scoring and rebounding. Stafford's breakout game came against McMurry, where he went 10-of-14 from the field for a career-high 23 points. Stafford has also got the job done on the boards, averaging 5.7 rebounds a game and has recorded a pair of double-doubles this season.

The Tornados will also rely on the play of veteran upperclassmen Estrada and Antoine Henderson.

Estrada has been the team's long-range assassin all season, knocking down a team-high 43 3-pointers and shooting just under 40% from behind the arc. He has caught fire offensively to close out the regular season, scoring at least 15 points in his last four games, including making 18 3-pointers during that stretch.

Henderson has been a force down low for CTX, leading the team in rebounds with 6.2 boards a game, along with 11.5 points a contest. He has recorded three double-doubles this season, including a 20-point, 15-rebound performance against LeTourneau, garnering him ASC Player of the Week honors.

The Tornados will have a tall task in stopping UMHB, who have the second-best offense in the conference and average the largest scoring margin among the 11 teams, winning by 11.4 points a game.

Josiah Johnson is the Cru's biggest offensive threat, averaging a league-best 25.6 points a game. The reigning ASC West Player of the Year can attack from all areas of the court, especially at the free-throw line, where he shoots just under 90%. In their last contest, CTX clamped down on Johnson though, holding him to a season-low seven points.

The Tornados will look to advance past the ASC Tournament quarterfinal round for the first time since 2019, facing the Cru in a one-seed vs. eight-seed matchup on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. inside the Mayborn Campus Center on the campus of UMHB in Belton, Texas.