CLINTON, Miss. – Josh Sanchez scored 30 points, including 20 in the second half, an the Concordia University Texas men's basketball team picked up a 93-83 American Southwest Conference victory over Mississippi College on Monday night at A.E. Wood Coliseum.

Sanchez was 8-of-19 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from behind the three-point line. The 6-foot junior guard also knocked down 11 of his 15 attempts from the free-throw line.

Dwayne Patterson logged his third double-double of the season after scoring 14 points and collecting a team-high 10 rebounds, while Andre Potts added 17 points. Jonathan Garza and Adam Whitlock also registered double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

The Tornados (3-1, 1-1 ASC), who are receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, shot 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the floor and 79.6 percent (39-of-49) from the charity stripe.

Concordia Texas, which trailed for only one second in the entire contest, forced 19 turnovers and recorded 10 steals.

The Choctaws (2-1, 0-1 ASC) shot 45.6 percent (31-for-68) from the field and outrebounded the Tornados, 49-40. However, the hosts struggled from the free-throw line, knocking down only 14-of-30 attempts.

Meanwhile, Lakin Ford registered a double-double that included team highs of 23 points and 10 boards. Emmanuel Ezejiofo added 14 points in 30 minutes off the bench.

Both teams struggled on the offensive end to begin the game. Patterson scored the first bucket of the contest with just over two minutes gone, which sparked a 15-5 opening run.

However, Mississippi College fought back and tied the game on Ford's layup with 1:20 left in the first half.

After the two squads traded the next four points, Sanchez buried a 3-pointer before the end of the period to give CTX a 43-40 advantage.

Near the midpoint of the second half, Sanchez fueled a 20-9 spurt that pushed the Tornados' lead to 73-62 with 7:40 to play. During the run, the Houston native scored nine points and handed out three assists.

Four minutes later, the Choctaws cut the lead to seven after a pair of free throws from Willie Williams.

However, Sanchez hit three consecutive shots from the charity stripe to push the advantage back to double digits.

Rayner Fredrick connected on a layup to trim the lead to eight with 1:38 left, but the Tornados scored nine of the final 16 points at the free-throw line to clinch the win.

CTX will return to action on Thursday, when it hosts Howard Payne (0-4, 0-3 ASC). Tip-off for the conference tilt is slated for 5:30 p.m. at Concordia Fieldhouse.

- CTX -