ALPINE- Senior forward
B.J. Hollis became just the eighth Sul Ross men's basketball player to join the 1,000-point club in a 96-85 win Thursday over Concordia.
The Brady, TX native entered the night 29 points away from reaching the milestone. He went to the free throw line with 1:38 remaining and just two points shy of the mark. Hollis calmly drained both for points 999 and 1,000 in his Sul Ross career. He finished the night with 31, also good for a new career-high.
The Lobos started the game with the first four as
Logan Dixon started scoring on a layup. B.J Hollis later laid one in for a 4-0 lead just 1:42 into the game.
The Tornados came back with four straight as part of a 7-1 run to lead 7-5 at 16:29.
Sully responded with a 6-0 run on a
Cailen Bond triple and a
Tristen Licon three-point play. He converted his layup and free throw after the foul for an 11-7 lead at 14:42.
After cutting it to 14-11,
Julian Paredes and
Cailen Bond both sank a pair of free throws to go up seven with 10:48 remaining in the first half.
Concordia took control over the next six minutes of the contest with a 19-2 run to lead 30-20 at 4:49.
Down 9 with 3:14 before the break, the Lobos closed the half on an 11-4 run. Hollis continued to climb the scoring ladder as he sank a pair of triples to help make it a slim 39-37 deficit at intermission.
The Tornados opened up with four straight to start the second half as part of a 7-2 run to go ahead 46-39 at 18:18.
Hollis and Dixon teamed up again for an 8-2 run to make it just a 48-47 Concordia lead. Hollis started with a triple before Dixon was later fouled on a made layup and hit his free throw. Hollis rebounded his own miss next the time down the floor and laid it back in to cut it to one at 17:18.
Concordia immediately got it back to three but fell victim to four straight Licon free throws for Sully's first lead since 20-17 in the first half.
The Tornados retook the lead with two at the line but quickly trailed again after two-point buckets from Licon,
Jake Lopez, and Bond put the Lobos ahead 57-52 with 14:15 remaining.
Concordia had an answer as a 7-0 run wiped away Sully's lead for a 59-57 advantage at 10:47.
Licon tied things up the next possession on a jumper and
Cole Avery quickly put the Lobos back ahead with a triple the next time down the floor. Sully needed just three possessions for a 5-0 run as Hollis finished the streak with a layup for a 64-59 lead at the 9:23 mark.
The Tornados soon brought it back to a one-point game, but Hollis continued to chase history with five straight as part of a 7-0 run to lead 73-65. Bond finished the run after rattling the rim on a dunk with 5:29 remaining.
That run proved to be a backbreaker for Concordia as the closest they would come again was 73-68 with 5:12 left. The Lobos used an 11-4 run to go up by double digits for the first time in the game as Licon finished it on a jumper with 2:32 left.
Hollis later stepped to the free throw line up nine and the game essentially put away. All that stood between him and history was a pair of 15-foot shots. The senior stepped up to the line and hit both as if no record had been set at all. His calm demeanor showing as he put Sul Ross up 11 with 1:38 left. It was only later that his teammates and coaches learned of the milestone and soon met him with applause and fanfare. Hollis finished his night with emphasis as he scored the final two points for the Lobos on a dunk with just under 15 seconds left to finish with a career-high 31 in the 96-85 win.
Hollis added eight rebounds and two steals to go with his game-high 31.
Licon finished with 25, six assists, three rebounds, and two steals.
Bond and Dixon also scored double digits with 14 and 13 respectively.
Lopez finished with a game-high 10 assists for his second double-digit assist game of the season.
This marks the eighth straight win for Sul Ross as they move to 16-8 on the season and 13-2 in conference play. The Tornados fall to 11-13 and 6-9.
The Lobos conclude their regular season Saturday at the Gallego Center with a 3:00 p.m. tip against Mary Hardin-Baylor.
