August 6, 2015
MARSHALL, Texas (8/6/15) - Here is the final and top moment for the 2014-15 East Texas Baptist University athletic year and it goes to the men's basketball team. The ETBU men's basketball team won their first-ever American Southwest Conference tournament championship in Ornelas Gym advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first-time, too.
Winning at championship on your home court can be one of the sweetest moments in a player's career and that is what the ETBU men's basketball team did in 2014-15. Defeating Concordia-Texas, 82-71, ETBU won their first-ever ASC Tournament Championship to go with their regular season championship. ETBU led from start to finish as four players scored in double figures. Jamil Samuel and Erby Thompson each had 15 points while Junior Mitchell added 14 points and Bret Atkins 13 points. The win kept ETBU's home record undefeated as they finished the year in the NCAA Tournament in Ornelas Gym at 18-0 and currently have a 21-game home winning streak.
The ASC Tournament started with a 67-52 win over Ozarks as Dylan Augustine had 18 points and Mitchell 12 points. ETBU then squeaked out a 75-73 win over Howard Payne to advance to the championship game. Howard Payne started off the game with a 7-0 lead before ETBU battled back to take a 39-32 halftime lead. Justin Felicia led the team with 18 points while Samuel and Ahnre Gray had 13 points, Mitchell 11 points, and Tyler Day 10 points.
Ornelas Gym was packed with almost 1300 people there watching the Tigers play for the championship. Mitchell was named the tournament MVP while Samuel and Felicia were on the all-tournament team.
What a season to remember with 26 wins, 18-0 in Ornelas Gym, a 10-game winning streak, and a finish in the Elite Eight.