The 2015 ASC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Tips Off Thursday
2/24/2015 4:26:55 PM
ASC Championship Bracket | History | Records
The 2015 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament is the 17th 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 26, as No. 3 Louisiana College takes on No. 6 Concordia Texas, followed by No. 2 Hardin-Simmons facing No. 7 Texas Dallas at 2:30 p.m. In the evening, No. 4 Howard Payne will face No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor at 5:00 p.m. and No. 1 East Texas Baptist will play the late game at 7:30 p.m. against No. 8 Ozarks.
The ASC Championship semifinals will be played Friday, February 27. 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 4:00 p.m. Saturday, February 28.
Three of the teams in the 2015 ASC Championship have won tournament titles. Texas Dallas (2014), Concordia Texas (2013), and Mary Hardin-Baylor (2010) have each hoisted the trophy since 2010. Seven teams have won the championship on their home court with the most recent coming in 2014 when Texas Dallas won the title in front of its home crowd at the UTD Activity Center.
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 East Texas Baptist athletic website.
Admission prices each day will be $8 for adults, $5 for general admission and $3 for college students (with current college ID), children and senior citizens. Tournament passes are not available. Tickets are available on game days at the Ornelas Gymnasium main entrance. Souvenir tournament T-shirts will be available for $15, while official game programs will be free.
The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Selection Show unveiling the 62-team championship field airs live on Monday, March 2 at 11:30 a.m. CT. Go to NCAA.com, Select Video > Live Events and scroll to Monday, March 2 for the live video link.
The 2015 ASC Championship Tournament Teams
No. 1 East Texas Baptist (15-5) – East Texas Baptist makes its second consecutive Championship appearance and ninth overall. ETBU enters the tournament coming off a record-setting season for conference, overall and consecutive wins. The Tigers claimed their first share of the ASC regular season title and No. 1 seed posting a team-record 15-5 mark against league opponents. ETBU's 20 overall wins are the most in a single-season under Coach Bert West in the school's Division III era and the Tigers’ 10-game win streak earlier this season is the longest in team history. East Texas Baptist has a 1-8 tournament record with their only win coming in the 2010 Tournament against McMurry. ETBU was one of the more stingy defensive units in the ASC this season. The Tigers led the league in scoring defense (67.6) and field goal percentage defense (.385), ranked second in blocks (116) and fifth in steals (196). Junior center Jamil Samuel led ETBU’s defensive efforts with 63 blocks ranked ninth in NCAA Division III and led the ASC with 210 rebounds.
No. 2 Hardin-Simmons (15-5) – Hardin-Simmons makes its fifth consecutive Championship appearance and eighth overall. HSU has a 10-7 tournament record and have won at least one game in all of its previous tournament appearances. HSU finished as the runner-up in two of the last three tournaments, and played in three ASC finals (2007, 2012, 2014). The Cowboys finished the regular season as the only team in the ASC to rank in the top three in both scoring offense (80.5) and scoring defense (70.6). Senior forward Derrick Jefferson enters the tournament as the only three-time ASC All-Tournament Team selection in league history. One of the most balanced players in the conference, Jefferson ranks in the top-10 in five league categories including third in steals (2.0) and field goal percentage (.523), fifth in scoring (19.1), ninth in rebounds (7.4) and 10th in assists (3.2). Jefferson also turned in the only triple-double by an ASC player this season. Sophomore center Justin Jones played a key role in the Cowboy’s defensive success. Jones set the ASC record for most blocks in a single-season (97) and tied the record for most blocks in a game (10) against Sul Ross State (Dec. 18). Jones currently ranks third in NCAA Division III in total blocks and blocks per game (3.88). He also finished the regular season ranked fourth in the league in rebounds (8.3) and is one of just three conference players to pull down more than 200 boards this season (207).
No. 3 Louisiana College (14-6) – Louisiana College makes its second consecutive Championship appearance and fourth overall. LC holds a 1-3 tournament record and won its first tournament game last season. The Wildcats are led by junior forward Anthony Gaines Jr. who led LC to a team-record 14 wins against ASC opponents. Gaines ranks in the top five in five league categories including second in field goal percentage (.563) and steals (2.2), third in scoring (20.6) and blocks (2.1) and fifth in rebounds (8.0).
No. 4 Howard Payne (14-6) – Howard Payne makes its fourth Championship appearance and first since 2008. The Yellow Jackets' 14 conference wins are the most since HPU went 17-5 to claim the ASC West Division title in the 2005-06 season. HPU had the biggest win increase of any ASC team from last season’s 5-20 record to a 14-11 mark this year. Howard Payne holds a 3-3 tournament record and finished as the runner-up in the 2006 Tournament. Senior guard Brandon Gould leads the HPU offense and ranks in the top-10 in five league categories including fifth in steals (1.8), seventh in assists (3.5), eighth in free throw percentage (.777), ninth in scoring (16.6) and 10th in field goal percentage (.430).
No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor (14-6) – Mary Hardin-Baylor makes its 12th consecutive Championship appearance and league-leading 15th overall. UMHB finished as the runner-up in two of the last four tournaments and took home the crown in 2008 and 2010. The Cru has qualified for the tournament in all but one of Coach Ken DeWeese's 17 seasons in Belton. Senior forward Jerard Graham leads the ASC in minutes played (878) and steals (2.3). Graham also ranks fourth in scoring (19.4), field goal percentage (.482) and ranks 12th in rebounds (6.9).
No. 6 Concordia Texas (12-8) – Concordia Texas makes its third consecutive Championship appearance and eighth overall. The Tornados took home the tournament title in 2013. Concordia led the ASC in scoring (89.5) and currently ranks fifth in NCAA Division III. The Tornados hold two additional nationally ranked numbers for overall assists (418) and three-point field goals made (240), both ranked 12th in Division III. Senior guards Andre Potts and Josh Sanchez lead the high-powered Concordia offense. Potts ranks sixth in the ASC in scoring (18.2) followed by Sanchez at seventh (18.1). Potts and Sanchez are also the top three-point shooting duo in the conference with both guards ranked in the top three. Potts ranks second in three-point field goals made (2.7) and three-point field goal percentage (.414). Sanchez is close behind at third in three-pointers made (2.6) and three-point field goal percentage (.373).
No. 7 Texas Dallas (11-9) – The defending ASC Champion Comets have played in the last 12 consecutive tournaments and reached the NCAA Division III Championship Sweet 16 a year ago. Texas Dallas is 14-12 in tournament play and has reached the semifinal round in the last six consecutive tournaments. Senior guard Rafael Farley ranks in the top five in five league categories and holds four rankings in the top 15 in NCAA Division III. Farley ranks seventh in three-point field goals per game (3.58) and 11th overall (86). His 21.8 points per game ranks 12th and his 524 total points on the year ranks 15th. Farley is just the second UTD men's player to record 500 points in a season (524) and is just 52 points shy of the program record. Earlier this season Farley also tied the ASC record for most three-pointers made in a single game (10) and tied the UTD record for most points (40) in a single game.
No. 8 Ozarks (4-16) – Ozarks makes its first Championship appearance since 2006 and sixth overall. It is also the first appearance for second-year Head Coach David Ferrell who hopes to lead the Eagles to their first tournament win. Junior forward Kelby Robinson is the team's leading scorer (15.8) and second-leading rebounder (7.7). Sophomore guard Josh Berard had a breakout season. He increased his scoring average by nearly 10 points from a year ago and has scored in double figures 20 times this season. Freshman point guard Jace Richardson ranks 15th in scoring (13.5), fourth in assists (4.2), 14th in steals (1.4) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6).
LeTourneau (5-20, 3-17) – LeTourneau finished just short of reaching the ASC Championship Tournament for the second consecutive season.
McMurry (6-16) – The McMurry men’s basketball team is currently 6-16 on the year and have one more game remaining against Tarleton State (Feb. 25). McMurry is in its first year as an NCAA Division III reclassifying member.
Sul Ross State (5-20, 5-15) – Sul Ross State won three of its final seven games, all of them coming at the Gallego Center. All of Sul Ross State's wins this season came against ASC opponents. Rocky Feliciano and Zakk Revelle started all 25 Lobo games this season .Alex Harrison led in rebounding, averaging 5.2 per game and Revelle led with 86 assists.
Texas-Tyler (3-17, 4-21) – Texas-Tyler fell short of competing its third consecutive ASC Championship Tournament. The Patriots closed out the season with the biggest win of the year in a 77-76 win over No. 3 seed Louisiana College.