BELTON, Texas — Hardin-Simmons' men's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the American Southwest Conference Tournament with a 110-100 win over Louisiana College on Friday afternoon at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.
Both teams came out hot and HSU led 32-16 with 11:40 to play in the first half. LC then used a 15-4 run to make it 36-31 with 8:10 to play. The Cowboys pushed the lead back to 63-49 at halftime.
The Cowboys came out hot in the second half and pushed the lead out to 89-65 with 10:16 to play. That is when LC started to chip away. Jelani Mitchell made it 102-95 to close the gap to seven but Matt Addison made a 3-point play and the Cowboys held off the hot-shooting Wildcats down the stretch.
HSU shot 56.9 percent in the game and hit 11 3-pointers. LC shot 50.7 percent and hit 14 3-pointers in the game.
Addison led five Cowboys in double figures with 32 points. He also had eight assists, six rebounds and three steals. Derrick Jefferson posted a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, John Derr added 18 points and Terrance Booker had 15 points.
Korey Salmon led LC with 29 points and 11 rebounds to close out his career. Danny Sumner had 21 points and Jelani Mitchell added 16 points.
HSU is now 20-6 on the year, marking the first time the Cowboys have won 20 games in the ASC era. Louisiana College finished its season with a record of 10-14. HSU will play Texas-Dallas in the semifinals on Saturday at 2 p.m. UTD beat Schreiner 80-55 in the first quarterfinal of the day.
The Cowboys have won at least one game in all five of their trips to the ASC Tournament. HSU is looking for its first ASC title in men's basketball.
--- HSU ---