PREVIEW: Home at last! UMHB men’s, women’s hoops open home schedule Thursday against Howard Payne

Men’s preview compiled by Kensley Walters, Women’s preview compiled by Riley Zayas

Previewing this week’s ASC action presented by The Best of Belton

Series history

UMHB’s men won both meetings against Howard Payne during the 2021-22 season, winning 94-59 in Belton, and 92-80 in Brownwood. The Cru has a good winning streak, having won its last eight games against HPU. They have won all but one of the last 10 matchups against the Yellow Jackets. 

The Crusader women are 16-23 since HPU dating back to the 2003-2004 season. However, UMHB has won 11 of the last 13 meetings with the Yellow Jackets, and are 7-12 in games played in Belton. 

Against SRSU, the women are 35-3, having won their last three contests against the Lobos. UMHB won 32 straight against SRSU from Jan. 25, 2005 to Feb. 22, 2020, and are 9-1 in the last 10 matchups, with an 18-1 home record. 

The men are 32-13 against the Lobos since 2001, with a 7-3 record in the last 10 meetings. Under Carroll’s leadership since 2020-21, UMHB has won its last four meetings with SRSU. The Cru are 17-5 at the Mayborn Center when facing SRSU. 

First-year head coaches

Both of the women’s matchups will feature teams with first-year head coaches, as HPU is led by Presley Fisk, an alum of the HPU program who lettered four years for the Yellow Jackets from 2014-2018. Fisk scored 692 points in her four-year collegiate career. 

SRSU hired E.J. Lee Smith just before the fall semester on August 22, as she leads a program that went 14-12 a year ago. A legend in women’s basketball, Smith was dubbed the “Korean Magic Johnson” by Sports Illustrated, as the Gimje, South Korea native starred at point guard for ULM from 1982-1986, twice being named an All-American. She began her coaching career in 1989, as a part-time volunteer assistant at ULM. 

Familiarity on the men’s side

UMHB head coach Clif Carroll and SRSU head coach Xavier Webb share a special connection, as Carroll coached Webb at SRSU for two seasons from 2015-2017. Now Webb is in his second year as the program’s head coach, having led the Lobos to a 10-16 mark in his first season. We covered this in a feature ahead of last year’s matchup in Belton, which you can check out here. Carroll led SRSU to an ASC title and three West Division championships in his five years in Alpine. 

Keys to the week

Converting on layups: UMHB missed a number of uncontested layups in the loss to ETBU, shooting just 27 percent on 70 shots. Mark Morefield noted that as an major area for improvement in his postgame interview, as UMHB aims to work the ball into the paint for short-range opportunities. The Crusaders have a height advantage over both HPU and SRSU in the post, which they will try to use to increase their scoring production from short-range. 

Against HPU: Forcing turnovers: UMHB has been successful in forcing the opposition to turn the ball over, whether on steals, errant passes, or dribbling out-of-bounds as of late. In last Saturday’s loss to ETBU, the Crusaders forced 28 turnovers, and oddly enough, that is the same number McMurry forced in its win over HPU on the same day. This is an area in which UMHB can dominate the stat sheet with aggressive defense, as HPU has a propensity to turn it over, and a high number in that stat category is prone to result in a number of fast-break points. 

Against SRSU: Martinez and Rokas lead the offense: The Lobos rely on two main scorers; Melody Martinez and Marley Rokas. Both average over 15 points per game, though doing it in different ways. A 5’8 guard, Martinez leads the team with 19-made three-pointers, while Rokas, a 5’11 forward, is the Lobos’ go-to scorer in the post. Keeping the duo to a minimum number of points will be critical in UMHB’s effort on Saturday; in all but one of SRSU’s six victories, either Martinez or Rokas has led the team in scoring. 

Keys to week (UMHB MBB)

Staying strong on the boards: One of the main reasons why UMHB defeated D-I Texas State on Tuesday was due to the Crusaders’ exceptional rebounding performance. Facing a squad with multiple players above 6-foot-8, UMHB was only outrebounded by two, 36-38. That will need to continue into this week against HPU and SRSU, as strong rebounding, especially on the defensive end, limits an opponent’s second-chance scoring opportunities greatly. 

Against HPU: Work the ball inside: HPU allows an average of 77.3 points per game, but ranks in the top half of the ASC in opponent shooting percentage, with opponents converting on 43 percent of their shooting attempts. That is still a favorable number for UMHB, who shot 41.8 percent against Texas State, though UMHB will have a tough test on shots from beyond the three-point arc; HPU is second-best in the ASC in opponent three-point percentage, at 28.2 percent. Thus, working the ball inside, and taking advantage of opportunities for layups and mid-range jumpers will be key. 

Against SRSU: Defending the three-point shot: Conversely, defending the three-point line might be one of UMHB’s biggest objectives against the Lobos, who lead the conference in three-pointers attempted (252). SRSU has been fairly consistent from long-range, too, converting on 30.2 percent of those shots.