AUSTIN, Texas – Sometimes winning numerous statistical categories will lead to an easy victory, but that was not the case on Tuesday evening when the Southwestern University men's basketball team dropped its season opener 88-83 at Concordia (TX) despite leading 45-28 at halftime.
Southwestern had better results in the statistical categories of field goal percentage (48.1-47.1), three-point percentage (53.8-35), free throw percentage (72.7-53.6) and rebounds (47-27).
The Southwestern faithful that made the trip to Concordia Fieldhouse in Austin saw their Pirates look outstanding during the first half having built up a 45-28 lead at the half before the three-headed monster of Luis Gonzalez, Donovan Stafford and Jaylon Johnson exerted themselves and bringing the Tornadoes back into it and eventually pulling off the victory.
Gonzalez had a game-high 28 points for Concordia on 5-for-13 shooting from the field including 1-of-4 from long range but was 12-for-17 from the charity stripe. Gonzalez had a game for the ages to start the season with nine assists, four steals, four rebounds and two blocks.
Johnson was deadly from long range in the second half as he was combined 6-for-10 from the field including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and two made free throws for 18 points. Stafford chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds for the Tornadoes.
Zac Black had a stellar outing in defeat for the Pirates going for a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double with four of those rebounds of the offensive variety in just 15 minutes of action as Southwestern dominated the boards on both sides of the ball regardless of who missed the shot.
Preston Hannah led the way for the Pirates as a total of five Southwestern ballers scored in double figures. Hannah totaled 18 points and added five rebounds.
Calvin Williams chipped in a 12-point, 6-rebound and 2-assist performance to go along with the 11 points from Brock Luechtefeld and 10 from Shobby Enakpenee/
Should the Pirates take care of the ball better especially in key stretches of play, Southwestern fans can look for many wins both home and away this season.
UP NEXT
An exhibition matchup is next on the docket for Southwestern when they take on the Mavericks from NCAA Division I's University of Texas-Arlington. Tipoff from UTA's beautiful 7,000-seat College Park Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.
