Box Score

HOUSTON, Texas – The Hardin-Simmons University Men’s Basketball team advances to the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship second round after a 70-65 win over Cal Lutheran on Friday night in Houston.

Cal Lutheran held a lead through until the 6:41 mark when the Cowboys used a seven-point run to take a 17-14 lead. Hardin-Simmons continued to outscore Cal Lutheran, not letting a Kingsmen basket go unanswered. A final three-pointer from Will Bartoszek with 14 seconds on the clock put Hardin-Simmons ahead 32-25 going into halftime.

Hardin-Simmons opened the second half with a 10-2 run to increase the lead to 15. The contest proceeded basket-for-basket until the 11:18 mark when Cal Lutheran’s Devon Lewis scored six straight points to cut the gap to six. The Cowboys quickly bounced back with a trio of buckets from Asher Fleming. Hardin-Simmons held a lead of no less than four through the final minutes to secure the 70-65 victory.

Asher Flemming led the Cowboys with a career-high 24 points while shooting 53 percent from the field and adding nine rebounds. Will Bartoszek and Chris Bryant both reached double-digits with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Austin Brewer was big under the basket for Hardin-Simmons, totaling 12 rebounds.

Hardin-Simmons advances to play St. Thomas in the NCAA Second Round on Saturday, March 8^th at 7:35 p.m. in Houston.