HOUSTON – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas began their NCAA Division III era on the basketball court in grand fashion Monday, defeating Concordia Texas 94-74 to open the 2019-20 season.

First-year freshman Nathan Ghavidel and sophomore transfer Brian Payton had memorable starts to their UST careers, as they both came off the bench to combine for 43 points on 16-of-24 shooting. Ghavidel scored 23 points and was 9-of-13 from the field, while Payton chipped in 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Click here to hear Nathan Ghavidel's post-game interview.

The duo of newcomers and Keaton Shaw combined to go 10-of-17 from 3-point range. As a team, the Celts shot 12-of-26 from the 3-point arc.

Concordia Texas jumped out to an 11-0 lead and led 16-7 with 15:33 remaining in the first half. From there, the Celts outscored their guests 24-3 over the next seven and half minutes to take a 31-19 advantage. UST's lead would not dip below 10 points the rest of the contest.

UST head coach Anthony Medina said after the game that his switch to a smaller, quicker lineup helped fuel the change in fortunes when he saw that Concordia Texas was going into its pressure defense and not crashing the boards for rebounds. Even with a smaller lineup, the Celts outrebounded Concordia 43-22.

Shaw pulled in 10 rebounds in addition to scoring 13 points for the Celts. Cameron Gims and Lennard Robinson chipped in seven points apiece for St. Thomas.

Philip Meikle and Spencer Bone scored 15 points apiece for the visiting Tornados.

The Celts return to action Tuesday, Nov. 19, when they host Arlington Baptist as a part of a women's-and-men's doubleheader between the two schools. The men are scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff.