Photo of Eli Beard, who had 24 points against Sul Ross State, by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru
ALPINE, Texas- Just two days after a disappointing 17-point loss to Howard Payne, the UMHB men’s basketball team avenged a double-digit first-half deficit and emerged with a well-earned 69-64 victory over Sul Ross State on Saturday afternoon.
While the Crusaders trailed 39-31 at halftime, UMHB played like a different team over the final 20 minutes, and outscored the Lobos 38-25. Eli Beard led the Crusaders’ offensive charge with a 24-point effort, scoring 12 points in each half, as UMHB improved to 5-5 overall. With the loss, SRSU dropped to 6-5 overall.
“The team grew up a little bit this weekend,” UMHB head coach Clif Carroll said postgame. “Hopefully we learned a lesson with Howard Payne. I felt like today, in the first half, [SRSU] made a run, and we got a little bit negative. But we had some people step up and take ownership of what was happening on the court. It was one of those moments where, hopefully, it’ll be good for us the rest of the season.”
With 11:50 left in the second half, SRSU’s Tyler Jackson converted on a free throw for a 50-43 lead. But it ended up being SRSU’s only points for the next two minutes, 57 seconds, as UMHB stepped up on the defensive end, and put together a key 10-0 scoring run. Kyle Wright’s layup on a drive to the lane put UMHB in front, 53-50, though the lead did not last long.
SRSU responded with a 7-0 run, taking back a 55-53 lead on Hayden Peterson’s layup and free throw with 6:55 remaining. Bryce Harris’ layup made it 57-53 before UMHB’s Ryan Pondant answered with a layup for The Cru. And for the next two minutes, it was a one-possession game, as the lead changed hands three times.
But with 1:40 to play, Zachary Engels stepped up with perhaps the biggest shot of the day. The sophomore wing stayed patiently in the left corner of the 3-point arc as the ball moved around the perimeter against SRSU’s defense. A wide-open opportunity soon presented itself, as multiple Lobo defenders moved towards Beard, who then dished a pass to Engels in the corner. And Engels connected on the 3-pointer, putting UMHB in front, 65-61. While it did not seal the win, it certainly gave the Crusaders breathing room late.
“We really tried to be more balanced, move the ball better, and find better shots for each other,” Carroll said of the ball movement from his team on the offensive end. “It showed up tonight. Sometimes, we take way too many shots off of zero and one passes. That needed to change.”
SRSU cut the deficit to a single point, 65-64, with 37 seconds left, but UMHB made all four of its free-throw attempts down the stretch, and sealed the come-from-behind road victory.
The first eight minutes of the first half were back-and-forth in nature, and SRSU led by a slim 16-15 margin with 11:30 left in the period. But in the span of 30 seconds, SRSU’s Gabe Sanchez scored five points and Jackson added six more. UMHB hit a cold shooting stretch, and found itself trailing, 29-15.
“When they made their run,” Carroll added, “we had seven straight possessions where we had zero or one passes [before taking a shot]. And we didn’t score on any of them. We have to clean some of that stuff up. But in the second half, I think you saw a better connected team and a team that was playing a lot better together.”
Rather than back down, the Crusaders battled back, and eventually cut the Lobo advantage back to single digits for good, closing the first half on a 7-0 scoring run. That kept UMHB in the game, and set up the strong second-half performance.
The Cru shot 48.2 percent in the second half (13-of-27) and converted on five 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes, pulling out the victory. More importantly, UMHB stepped up on the defensive end, and limited SRSU to just nine made shots in the second half. The Lobos were 1-of-13 from beyond the 3-point arc in that span.
Pondant led The Cru with 14 rebounds in a season-best performance for the forward. In addition to his 24 points, Beard also had a team-best six assists. Jackson finished as SRSU’s top scorer, with 14 points.
Beard had a season-high performance in points, minutes played (32), 3-pointers made (4), rebounds (7), and assists (6). He stepped up when UMHB needed a spark, and has steadily grown in his confidence as his first year with The Cru has progressed.
“His confidence is growing,” Carroll said of Beard. “He needed to step up today, and he did. He shouldered the scoring load and had the ball in his hands in important moments. We know he’s really good. He’s taken a few steps forward and become one of our guys that we can lean on.”
Two more games remain on the schedule within the calendar year, as UMHB hosts Berry College in Belton on Dec. 19 at 2:00 p.m. CT and visits Texas A&M-Kingsville on Dec. 31. Berry enters Tuesday’s matchup with a 2-5 record, having lost its last three games.
