Championship Central | Box Score | Interview
BELTON, Texas – East Texas Baptist won its second American Southwest Conference Championship in men’s basketball by defeating Hardin-Simmons 72-64 at Mayborn Campus Center Saturday night.
The Tigers also won the title in 2015. The team improved to 23-5, which is the most wins for the program since finishing with 28 their other championship campaign. They secure the ASC’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship. The selection show will be at 12:00 p.m. on Monday on NCAA.com.
It was a gritty back-and-forth game that produced 16 lead changes and 11 ties. ETBU used a 12-0 run to erase an eight-point gap in the first half to build a 34-30 edge. The Cowboys responded to a near seven-minute drought by scoring the final five points in the last minute to take a 35-34 halftime lead.
Both teams traded leads most of the second half, but with the score tied at 53 the Tigers went on a 10-2 surge to command the finish. Hardin-Simmons cut the deficit to 66-62 with 1:24 to play, but ETBU’s Jayden Williams drilled a three-pointer to push the momentum back to the Tigers.
Darry Moore was named ASC Tournament Most Valuable Player and led all players with 25 points and 10 rebounds to claim a double-double. He had at least 20 points in all three tournament games and finished with 75. Williams scored 16 points thanks to 4-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc. Ryan Elzy added 10 points. The Tigers shot 50 percent from the field in the second half and 46.7 percent overall. The Tigers finished with a 38-30 advantage on points in the paint.
Hardin-Simmons was led by Jason Justice and Calaway Dykes with 16 points each. The duo combined for 5-of-7 shooting from the three-point line. Hardin-Simmons made 5-of-8 in the first half, with 12 counting towards 18 points that helped build its biggest lead of the game at 30-22. The Cowboys finished overall 6-of-12 from deep. Steven Quinn notched 13 points and was 9-for-10 at the free throw line. Quinn accumulated the most points in the tournament with 78. Austin Brewer finished with 10. Will Bartoszek grabbed eight rebounds for a team-high.
Hardin-Simmons finishes its season at 19-9. The Cowboys ended the season with the most ASC Tournament wins with 23. The previous time these teams met in an ASC Championship Tournament game was the 2017 Quarterfinals, which the Cowboys won 89-80. Hardin-Simmons would win its second title that same year.
All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player
– Darry Moore, East Texas Baptist
Kevin Charles, East Texas Baptist
Aaron Gregg, East Texas Baptist
Josiah Johnson, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Jason Justice, Hardin-Simmons
Steven Quinn, Hardin-Simmons
Hunter Stevens, UT Dallas
East Texas Baptist Recap | Hardin-Simmons Recap
SEMIFINAL ROUND / February 24
Game 4 | No. 4 Hardin-Simmons 78, No. 1 Mary Hardin-Baylor 71
Hardin-Simmons pushed a six-point halftime advantage to as many as 19 around the midway juncture in the second half and withstood a late surge to defeat No. 1 seed Mary Hardin-Baylor, 78-71, on Friday. The Cowboys advanced to play East Texas Baptist on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The game opened with a back-and-forth battle with six ties and two lead changes. UMHB worked the large deficit to five with 2:57 left after a Josiah Johnson three-pointer. The Cowboys sank five of their last six free throws and five points was as close as the Cru came. Steven Quinn led all scorers with 26 points and has 65 through two contests in this tournament. Will Bartoszek and Jamison Bosch each scored 14 points, while Bartoszek led the team with nine rebounds. Jason Justice totaled nine points, eight rebounds, and six assists, and three steals. Hardin-Simmons improved to 19-8 and reached its first ASC Men’s Basketball Championship since 2019. The Cowboys won their 23rd ASC Tournament game to continue their conference lead. They are seeking their third title and first since 2017.
Mary Hardin-Baylor was led by Josiah Johnson with 16 points and nine rebounds to lead the team. His three assists matched Kyle Wright for a team-high. Ty Prince was the other player for the Cru in double figures with 13 and 10 came in the second half. Luke Feely posted nine points and eight rebounds. The Cru moved to 21-5 overall after reaching their third straight semifinal game and fourth in the past five seasons. UMHB was ranked No. 2 in the past two NCAA Division III Region X Rankings.
The previous time a No. 4 seed reached the ASC Finals was UT Dallas in 2005, which it won 73-55 for the title over Mississippi College. The conference was in divisions. The most recent year a lower seed upset to reach the championship round was in 2015 when No. 6 seed Concordia Texas advanced and was runner-up. That season had no divisions and there were eight seeds.
Hardin-Simmons Recap | Mary Hardin-Baylor Recap
Game 3 | No. 3 East Texas Baptist 74, No. 2 UT Dallas 71
East Texas Baptist held on to knock off UT Dallas, 74-71, on Friday in the ASC Men’s Basketball Championship Semifinals. The Tigers advanced to play Hardin-Simmons in the Championship Game on Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Tigers only trailed at the outset, 2-0, and were able to navigate the remainder of the game with three ties and a lead that never eclipsed double-digits. Darry Moore led all scorers with 22 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line that include clutch ones down the stretch to secure a multi-possession lead. Kevin Charles tossed in 17 points, while Aaron Gregg notched a double-double with 11 points and rebounds. Elzy Ryan had 11 points to wrap up the double-digit quartet for ETBU. The Tigers improve to 22-5, which is the most wins since the 2014-15 team that won 28 games and claimed its ASC Championship. This is ETBU’s first ASC Championship appearance since 2019-20, which required a win over the Comets in the semifinals.
UT Dallas was led by Hunter Stevens with 17 points and six rebounds for team-highs. Kyle Poerschke and Donovan Souter each registered 14 points. The Comets finish the season at 20-6. UTD fell in consecutive games for the first time this season and both to the Tigers by one possession. It was UTD’s sixth semifinal appearance in the past seven years.
East Texas Baptist Recap | UT Dallas Recap
QUARTERFINAL ROUND / February 21
Game 2 | No. 4 Hardin-Simmons 101, No. 5 Concordia Texas 96
Hardin-Simmons men’s basketball held off a furious second half rally from Concordia Texas to prevail 101-96 on Tuesday night. The Cowboys moved to 13-12 on the season and advanced to play No. 1 seed and tournament host Mary Hardin-Baylor on Friday, 7:30 p.m.
The Cowboys shot 55.9 percent in the first half and behind 20 points from Steven Quinn in that frame would reach a 50-39 intermission lead. The Tornados kept within striking distance despite the early deficit and nipped the score to 95-91 with 39 seconds left. Quinn, who made a personal-best 39 points would hit both free throws and had four of the Cowboys last six at the line as they went perfect to hold on. Austin Brewer notched a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Jason Justice had 17 points, while Will Bartoszek tossed in 15.
Hardin-Simmons earned its 22nd ASC tournament win and is in sole possession of first in the league for that category. The Cowboys reached its third consecutive tournament semifinal.
Concordia Texas was led by Donovan Stafford with 22 points and eight rebounds for most on the team. DJ Pigford tossed in 19 points, while the bench combined for 45 points between a trio of players. The Tornados capped its season with a 13-12 record and posted double-digit win totals overall and in the ASC for the first time since 2018-19.
Hardin-Simmons Recap | Concordia Texas Recap
Game 1 | No. 3 East Texas Baptist 77, No. 6 LeTourneau 65
East Texas Baptist men’s basketball defeated LeTourneau, 77-65, behind six-point advantages in both halves to advance past the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Tigers improved to 21-5 and advance to play No. 2 seed UT Dallas on Friday, 5:00 p.m. at host site Mary Hardin-Baylor.
There were two lead changes and once that the score was tied beyond the opening tip. The Tigers held a three-point lead midway through the second half and after a small outburst would see LeTourneau cut the gap back to three on a jumper by Deonte Jackson to make it 62-59 with 6:04 left. The YellowJackets never trailed by double-digits until 1:08 remained in the contest, which is when East Texas Baptist closed things out.
ETBU was led by Darry Moore with 28 points behind 12-15 field goal shooting. Ryan Elzy had 10 points, while Aaron Gregg neared a double-double with nine points and 10 assists and Kevin Charles did nearly the same with nine points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers eclipsed double figures in tournament wins with their 10th overall and reached their first semifinal contest since 2019-20.
LeTourneau was paced by Deonte Jackson with a game-high 35 points, while Warren Richardson had 13 and the duo played for 40 minutes. John Argue came down with 12 boards. The YellowJackets finish their season at 12-14 overall.
East Texas Baptist Recap | LeTourneau Recap