Photo by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru
BELTON- In a battle between the American Southwest Conference’s two preseason favorites, Mary Hardin-Baylor got off to a strong offensive start and never looked back, holding the lead for the entirety of Saturday’s 79-69 win over East Texas Baptist.
The Cru, who have now won back-to-back conference matchups, led by as many as 20 points in the first half, and shot exactly 50 percent from the field, including 63 percent in the opening half. While ETBU challenged UMHB down the stretch, the Crusaders never let the lead dip below double digits, improving to 2-1 in league play and 4-4 overall.
UMHB claimed a 4-0 lead by the 18:36 mark of the first half, and while ETBU never tied the score, the Tigers cut the deficit to a single point three times before The Cru finally gained separation. Payton Brooks sparked a 15-3 scoring run with five points in the span of 15 seconds, as UMHB converted on three 3-pointers in the span of five minutes. Maurice Pinnock’s jumper with 10:15 until halftime gave The Cru a 26-13 lead, and four minutes later, Josiah Johnson came through with a jumper of his own for a 20-point advantage.
WIth UMHB in rhythm, the Tigers struggled to keep pace offensively, though ETBU did cut the deficit to 11 just before halftime. Kyle Wright’s jump-shot with 37 seconds left sent the hosts into the intermission with a 45-32 lead.
The score gradually evened as the second half progressed, and with 10:22 remaining, ETBU’s Ryan Elzy took advantage of an opportunity on the defensive end, stealing the ball away from UMHB. Elzy finished with a layup for the Tigers, and ETBU found itself within 10 points of tying the score.
Sensing the slight shift in momentum, Eli Beard connected on a key 3-pointer from the right wing, putting UMHB up by 13. With 8:35 to go, Ryan Pondant scored at the rim, and Johnson followed with a short-range shot on a fast-break, giving UMHB a 69-52 advantage.
Though they had their offensive struggles in the second half, the Crusaders avoided any significant cold shooting stretches, as they maintained the lead and held on for the victory. The lead widened to as many as 18 points down the final stretch.
From UMHB head coach Clif Carroll
…On finding a strong offensive rhythm
“This is where you have to take individualism out of it and play as a team. You have to find the best shot for the team and it took us about two weeks to figure that out. Unfortunately, we lost some games during that stretch, but you forget how much new is on this team and how much experience we lost off last year’s team. The kids have worked hard, learned some lessons, and taken some things to heart. So my hat’s off to them.”
…On maintaining the lead even after ETBU fought back in the second half
“The first lesson you have to learn is how to get up by 20, and what did we do to get to that point in the first half? And then what did we do to let it slip a little bit? [We’re] learning lessons everyday and you have to be consistent as coaches to teach them what they need to know. This team has really made a couple strides the last week and a half.”
From junior guard Payton Brooks
…On his 19-point performance
“I’ve been feeling all season that my time was going to come and everything was going to fall in line for me. It happened in this game. That’s the quickest I’ve ever had 16 points. I knew eventually I was going to have a breakthrough game. That’s what this team needs. We need somebody other than Josiah [to score]. We have strong bench players and strong starters. We need other scorers as well.”
Game Notes
- The victory marked UMHB’s third-straight win over ETBU and seventh straight against the Tigers in Belton.
- Josiah Johnson had a team-high 20 points in the win, marking his sixth game of the season with 20+ points.
- Payton Brooks’ 19 points marked a career-high for the junior guard, who entered Saturday’s game averaging 7.1 points per game.
- UMHB’s shooting percentage of 50 percent marked the highest percentage for Th Cru in any game this season. The previous high was 41.4 percent against Texas Lutheran on Nov. 15.
- The Crusaders also shot 46.7 percent from 3-point range (7-of-15), which is also a new season-best for UMHB.
Up Next
UMHB travels to Brownwood for a Thursday night matchup against conference foe Howard Payne. The Yellowjackets are 6-5 overall, with a 1-3 mark in league play.
