ABILENE,Texas- The Concordia Texas men's basketball team outlasted Hardin-Simmons in a 103-102 overtime matchup. Three different Tornados broke their career high in scoring with DJ Pigford leading the team with 36 points inside Mabee Complex on Saturday.
Concordia took the lead quickly, 5-0, In the first minute to start the game with Henri Marcus Vizcarrondo Jr. securing a three-pointer and layup for back-to-back scores.
Both teams would go on to trading back-and-forth buckets leading up midway in the first half. With 9 minutes and 44 seconds left, Donovan Stafford drilled in a deep three-pointer to tie the game 21-21.
Vizcarrondo Jr continued his dominant play inside the paint with a clutch put back in a tight contest, 27-28. In the final three minutes of the first half, freshman guard Corey Thompson fires in a three-pointer to make it a four-point game.
A layup by Thompson opened up the second half, sparked a 10-0 run for the Tornados to bring the score 49-51. Concordia continued to fight their way back with two back-to-back three-pointers from deep by Thompson and Stafford to take the lead 64-62, with 10 minutes and 42 seconds remaining.
Both teams would continue to battle trading shots coming down to the final seconds of the game with Stafford falling short of a buzzard beater to send the game to overtime.
Concordia struck first in overtime with a turnaround jumper by Stafford to take the lead. The Tornados would go on controlling majority of the matchup up until the final minute of the game when the Cowboys brought the score 99-97. CTX battled to the final whistle to claim the victory in a hard fought matchup against Hardin Simmons.
Concordia Texas will be back on the road and head to Belton, Texas to take on Mary Harden Baylor January 20 at 3 PM.
BOX SCORE STANDOUTS
DJ Pigford 36 Pts (Career-High), 5 Rebs
Corey Thompson 26 Pts (Career-High), 7 Rebs
Henri Vizcarrondo Jr 18 Pts (Career-High), 8 Rebs
Donovan Stafford 14 Pts, 8 Rebs
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the CTX men's basketball program, follow us on social media (@ctxathletics) and visit athletics.concordia.edu
