UMHB trailed 34-28 at halftime after trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half. The Crusaders shot just 34 per cent from the field in the first half and only hit 1-10 from three-point range. Concordia shot 46 per cent from the floor and hit 4-10 from beyond the arc in the first. UMHB stormed back in the second half and tied the game at 38 with 15:58 to play. The Crusaders finally retook the lead at 42-40 with 13:26 left in the game and UMHB never trailed again. The Crusaders pushed the lead to as many as seven points before the Tornados cut it to 64-62 on Steven Nolan’s lay-up with eight seconds remaining. Brandon Gatlin then nailed two free throws to make it 66-62 and the Tornados missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to end it. UMHB shot 54 per cent from the field in the second half and held Concordia to 32 per cent shooting. The Crusaders also had a huge edge on the boards, out rebounding the Tornados 45-25.
Justin Hejl led UMHB with 16 points and 11 rebounds and he became just the 11th player in Crusader history to go over 1,000 career points. He is also just the 8th Crusaders to score over 1,000 points and grab more than 500 rebounds in his career. Adam Wiese also had a double-double for UMHB with 15 points and 10 rebounds and Brandon Gatlin added 12 points for the Crusaders. Darren Johnson led Concordia with 17 points and Keith Darden and Steven Nolan added 12 points apiece. Patrick Oliver added nine rebounds and four blocked shots for the Tornados.
The Crusaders will continue their home stand with two more ASC West Division games this week. UMHB will host Hardin-Simmons University in a 7:30 PM tip-off on Thursday and McMurry University will come to Mabee Gym for a 3:00 PM start on Saturday.