It didn’t work.
In a 6-minute second-half burst, the Tornados’ rapid pace wore down the Yellow Jackets and sent Concordia to its first conference title game with a 105-92 win Saturday in a semifinal of the American Southwest Conference Tournament at Mayborn Campus Center.
“In their style, they do get up and down the floor a little bit,” fourth-year Concordia coach Stan Bonewitz said. “I didn’t know if they would because they played that overtime game on Friday against Mississippi (College). I thought maybe they would try and keep the game in the 70s because of bodies and legs.
“Fortunately, the plan of wearing on them and just beating, beating, beating kicked in during the last 12-13 minutes.”
Concordia (19-8) advanced to face No. 14 Mary Hardin-Baylor (24-3) at 2 p.m. today for the tournament championship. Howard Payne, who upset five-time tournament and two-time defending champion Mississippi College 94-90 in overtime on Friday, finished 14-13.
Trailing 63-57 with 13:24 remaining, Yellow Jackets’ senior leader Lee Scott committed his fourth foul, forcing him to the bench and dealing Howard Payne a major setback.
With Scott on the bench, Concordia forced six consecutive Yellow Jacket turno-vers, including two offensive fouls, to take a 77-63 lead with 9:22 left.
Scott returned with 9:11 remaining, but he couldn’t help stop the Tornados’ momentum.
Clint Hamilton’s layup capped a 23-10 spurt that gave Concordia an 86-67 lead with 6:31 left. The Yellow Jackets never got within 10 the rest of the game.
“We had a 6-minute session where we played really dumb,” said Howard Payne coach Charles Pattillo, whose team overcame an early 15-1 deficit.
“We tried to force shots and passes. We didn’t rebound very well and didn’t run our offense. They just have too many shooters and too much quickness for us.”
Reserve Valentino Maxwell scored 10 of his 21 second-half points during the decisive run. He finished with a team-high 33 points.
A regular starter since his freshman season, Maxwell - a Harker Heights graduate - was asked by Bonewitz to switch to the bench role in the middle of the season. Averaging a team-high and ASC third-best 17.4 points per game, the unusual lineup change paid dividends.
“Coach made a decision. He called me the Ginobili of the team and told me why he doesn’t start,” said Maxwell, referring to the San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili. “He said in the middle of the season that we needed a spark off the bench.”
Added Bonewitz on Maxwell’s performance: “Valentino was Valentino. He was really good. If he sets up his jumper by getting to the rim, he’s a lot better because he’s very skilled. Sometimes, he gets too caught up on the perimeter.
“I thought the other thing is he played really hard defensively. That’s something we’ve worked with him on and talked to him about. He has taken it upon himself to improve on the defensive end and I think you saw it tonight.”
Concordia, which won its first ASC Tournament game Friday against Texas-Dallas in just its second tourney appearance, has a chance to capture its first ASC title today.
As for Maxwell, he’s looking forward to battling UMHB’s Tilmon Gaddy, a former high school teammate.
“I kind of want UMHB,” Maxwell said. “I want to play Tilmon Gaddy, my teammate (at Harker Heights).”
NOTES: The winner of today’s final will earn the ASC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. . . . Tom Hermann scored a game-high 34 points for HPU. . . . Concordia dropped its two regular-season games against UMHB, falling 104-102 in double-overtime in Belton and 97-83 in Austin.
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
