2017 ASC Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament Tips Off Thursday
2/21/2017 8:57:47 AM
ASC Championship Site
The 2017 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament is the 19th postseason event in league history dating back to 1999. The winner of the Championship earns an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
The tournament will tip off at Noon on Thursday, February 23, as (E2) UT Dallas takes on (W3) Mary Hardin-Baylor, followed by (W1) Hardin-Simmons facing (E4) East Texas Baptist at 2:30 p.m. In the evening, (W2) Concordia Texas will face (E3) UT Tyler at 5:00 p.m. and (E1) LeTourneau will play the late game at 7:30 p.m. against (W4) Sul Ross State.
The ASC Championship semifinals will be played Friday, February 24. Game five will tip at 5:00 p.m. and game six is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start time. The championship game will start at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, February 25.
The entire eight-team, single elimination event is available for fans to watch online for free. All tournament links for live stats, broadcasts, box scores, game recaps, bracket, photos and post-game interviews can be found on the ASC Tournament Central page and the LeTourneau athletic website.
Tickets are $6 for general admission and $3 for visiting students with a valid school ID and anyone 18 and under. LeTourneau, faculty, staff and students will be admitted free with a valid university ID. Shirts are $15 and will be available at Solheim Arena.
The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Selection Show unveiling the 62-team championship field airs live on Monday, February 27 at 11:30 a.m. (CST) Go to NCAA.com, Select Video > Live Events and scroll to Monday, February 27 for the live video link.
2017 ASC Championship Tournament Teams
East Division
No. 1 LeTourneau (12-4 / 20-5) - LeTourneau enjoyed its best season in team history winning its first East Division title and set a team record with 20 overall wins. The YellowJackets make their fifth tournament appearance and will look to pick up their first win in the annual postseason event. LeTourneau is led by junior guard Alec Colhoff who ranks second in the ASC in free throw percentage (.891), third in three-point percentage (.442) and three-point field goals (68), and ranks 12th in scoring (15.9). Senior guard Jeff Martin ranks 11th in Division III in assist-turnover ratio (3.4) and ranks tied for third in the ASC in assists (145), 10th in steals (37) and is 13th in field goal percentage (.439).
No. 2 UT Dallas (8-8 / 11-14) - UT Dallas makes its 14th consecutive tournament appearance and has won three ASC championships (2005, 2009, 2014). The Comets have a 14-9 tournament record and share honors with Mary Hardin-Baylor for the longest current active streak, each with 14 consecutive conference tournament appearances. Junior guard Caleb Banks (12.9) and senior forward Kyle Coulter (12.4) lead the Comets offense and both rank in the top 30 in ASC scoring. Banks ranks seventh in Division III in total assists (171) and set the UTD single season record. He also ranks second in the ASC in assist-turnover ratio (2.5) and is eighth in steals (42). Coulter was a constant threat from behind the arc, ranked fourth in three-point percentage (.425) and 10th in three-point field goals (54).
No. 3 UT Tyler (8-8 / 15-10) - UT Tyler makes its first tournament appearance since 2014 and their seventh overall. The Patriots have a 1-6 record in the ASC tournament and advanced to the semifinals in 2014. Senior guard Jordan Francis ranks fourth in the ASC in field goal percentage (.589), 11th in free throw percentage (.776) and is 16th in scoring (14.4). Junior forward Melvin Anthony leads the Patriots' defensive effort and ranks 11th in rebounds (179) and 12th in blocks (21).
No. 4 East Texas Baptist (6-10 / 15-10) - East Texas Baptist makes its fourth consecutive tournament appearance and 11th overall. The Tigers are 5-9 in tournament play and won the ASC title in 2015 en route to competing in the Elite 8. Senior forward Jordan Quillian was the top shooter from the perimeter in the ASC and ranks fifth in Division III (.650). Quillian also ranks seventh in the league in rebounds (186), 13th in blocks (18) and 19th in scoring (13.8). Senior guard Dylan Augustine ranks sixth in the ASC in three-point field goal percentage (.418) and ninth in three-point field goals (56).
West Division
No. 1 Hardin-Simmons (13-3 / 19-6) - The defending ASC champion, Hardin-Simmons edged Mary Hardin-Baylor by one point in the last game of the season to win its first outright West Division title. HSU makes its seventh consecutive tournament appearance and 11th overall and are 14-8 in the postseason event. Senior forward Nathaniel Jack is the only player in the ASC to average a double-double, ranking ninth in scoring (17.2) and led the league in rebounds (11.6). Jack's total rebounds (289) and per game (11.6) both rank in the top 15 in Division III. Jack also leads the ASC in steals (54) and minutes played (38.4), ranks fifth in field goal percentage (.581) and seventh in assists (99). Senior center Justin Jones ranks second in Division III in blocks (93) and set the ASC career record with 348, surpassing the previous record holder by 48 blocks. Jones also ranks eighth in the ASC in rebounds per game (7.7) and is 25th in scoring (13.1). Junior guard Caleb Spoon led the ASC in three-point field goals (85) and ranks tied for 11th in Division III. Spoon also ranks fifth in the ASC in three-point percentage (.425). Senior guard Christian O'Neal made more than 100 made free throws and ranks fifth in Division III in free throw percentage (.936). O'Neal also ranks seventh in the ASC in assists (4.1), 11th in scoring (16.1), is 13th in steals (1.3) and 15th in field goal percentage (.434).
No. 2 Concordia Texas (12-4 / 18-7) - Concordia Texas makes its fifth straight tournament appearance and 10th overall. Concordia Texas won the ASC title in 2013, is a two-time runner-up and has a 7-8 record in the conference tournament. The highest scoring team in the conference (98.0), Concordia Texas is led by the sophomore guard duo of Joe Neal and Ephriam Price. Neal ranks third in scoring (19.6), sixth in rebounds (7.8) and steals (1.9) and is seventh in field goal percentage (.542). Price ranks seventh in scoring (18.2) and is 10th in field goal percentage (.524). Junior guard Josh Samuels and Price are the top shooting duo in the ASC behind the arc. Samuels (.482) and Price (.481) rank first and second, respectively, in three-point field goal percentage, and are tied for fourth in three-point field goals made per game (2.7).
No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor (15-10) - Mary Hardin-Baylor leads the ASC with 17 tournament appearances and has claimed two ASC crowns (2008, 2010). The Cru has a 14-14 tournament record and share honors with UT Dallas for the longest current active streak, each with 14 consecutive conference tournament appearances. UMHB has played in all but one ASC tournament and has not missed the event since the field expanded to eight teams. Sophomore guard Demarius Cress led the Cru offense and is one of two ASC players to score more than 500 points (513) and average more than 20 points per game (20.5), both ranked second in the league. Cress also ranks 12th in assists (3.2) and 14th in field goal percentage (.437). From behind the arc junior guard Aubrie King set the UMHB single-season record for most three-point field goals (84) and ranks second in the ASC. Senior forward Daniel Mills ranks third in free throw percentage (.868), eighth in scoring (17.4) and ninth in field goal percentage (.528). Defensively, senior center Austin Stolte ranks ninth in rebounds (7.7) and second in blocks (55).
No. 4 Sul Ross State (10-15) - Sul Ross State defeated Howard Payne in the last game of the season to secure the final spot in the West Division. The Lobos have a 4-7 tournament record and make their second consecutive tournament appearance and ninth overall. Junior forward Caleb Thomasson is the only player in the ASC to rank in the top five in both scoring (19.2) and rebounds (8.7). Thomasson led the league in field goals made (193) and ranks second in double-doubles (13). His field goal percentage (.643) also ranks 12th in Division III and was named the USBWA Division III Player of the Week (Feb. 7). Senior forward Jacob Dawson ranks sixth in assists (105), junior guard C.J. Ross ranks ninth in steals (1.5), and senior guard Xavier Webb is the top three-point shooting threat for the Lobos ranked seventh in treys per game (2.3) and 11th in percentage (.377).