BELTON–First there was a six-point deficit immediately out of the gate, then a 24-0 scoring run that put The Cru comfortably in front. But that wide margin was nowhere to be found as the clock ticked below a minute on Thursday night in Belton.
UMHB, facing Sul Ross State for the final time as conference foes, held a narrow 78-77 lead after Bryson Laird’s jumper swished through the net for the Lobos with 40 seconds left in the second half. The 24-6 advantage The Cru found early on dwindled to a single point, but Josiah Johnson converted on a pair of free throws for UMHB on the other end, extending the lead back to three.
And in SRSU’s final opportunity at a tie to send the game in overtime, the UMHB defense stood tall, forcing an off-balance 3-point shot from Zyrin Brantley that bounced off the left side of the backboard and into the hands of UMHB’s Zachary Engels. The Cru survived with an 80-77 victory in a game that counted only towards UMHB’s overall record, which improved to 10-9. Due to SRSU’s transition period to NCAA Division II, the contest technically went down as a non-conference meeting. SRSU dropped to 11-10 overall.
It was the kind of result UMHB needed after struggling on the road in East Texas a week prior, losing by a combined eight points to ETBU and LeTourneau. With five games left in league play, UMHB is sitting in the No. 6 spot in the league standings, which is notable, considering only the ASC’s top six teams qualify for the conference tournament. It also sets up a critical conference duel in Belton on Saturday against Howard Payne, who is now 4-9 in the ASC, but beat UMHB 96-79 in Brownwood on Dec. 14.
Johnson led the way with a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double against SRSU, though he was not the only Crusader to step up in the scoring column, something head coach Clif Carroll was looking for entering the matchup. Offensive balance was evident, as Eli Beard tallied 15 points, Ryan Pondant had 13, and Engels put up 10.
As a team, UMHB stuck to its strength at the free throw line, converting on 26 of 29 attempts, which proved key with the three-point final margin. The Cru remains the only team in the ASC shooting above 80 percent at the charity stripe (80.2%). A strong first half saw UMHB shoot 40 percent from the field, and the Crusaders finished with a shooting percentage of 37.5 percent. 17 of UMHB’s points came off 13 SRSU turnovers and helped The Cru generate offense, especially in the opening half.
The Lobos came out with a quick advantage, as Tyler Jackson–who had 16 points–scored four of SRSU’s first six points. They also held UMHB scoreless until the 17:46 mark, until Beard swished a 3-pointer and cut the SRSU lead in half.
That shot sparked what is perhaps one of UMHB’s finest stretches in a game this season. Everything seemed to click on both ends of the floor, with SRSU struggling to find an open shot and The Cru scoring on nearly every possession. From the 17:46 mark to the 9:30 mark, the Lobos were silent on the offensive end, while UMHB shot 8-of-15 from the field, and went up 24-6 on a jump-shot from Beard.
The 18-point lead became 19 less than two minutes later, when LD Butler stepped up with a 3-pointer and put The Cru up, 30-11. But in a true game of runs, SRSU answered promptly, and cut the deficit to 11 with 4:32 left in the half, having gone on a 10-2 run of its own. With 3:52, SRSU’s Manny Flores connected on a 3-pointer that made the score 34-24, and put the Lobos back within striking distance.
The lead never dipped below double digits for the rest of the first half, however, as UMHB took a 43-30 lead into halftime.
UMHB picked back up where it had left off in the first six minutes of the second half as well, with offensive rhythm at a noticeable high point. When Pondant’s short-range jumper fell through the net with 13:33 to play, UMHB led by 22, 62-40, marking The Cru’s largest lead of the night.
SRSU continued battling, despite the hosts maintaining their advantage and keeping the lead out of reach. With 5:31 remaining, a pair of free throws from Gabe Sanchez cut the UMHB advantage to single digits, though the Crusaders immediately extended it back to 11 points on three occasions down the stretch. But a 3-pointer from Sanchez with 2:07 left gave way to a 10-0 SRSU run, taking the UMHB lead all the way down to a single point, and the final minute unfolded from there, as the Crusaders sealed the narrow victory.
It was yet another memorable duel between a pair of ASC programs who had many games of that sort of back-and-forth caliber during their time residing in the same league. That chapter of history closed for UMHB and SRSU on Thursday night, at least for the foreseeable future, though no rule limits the ability for D-II and D-III programs to meet in non-conference play.
The focus now shifts to Saturday’s 3 p.m. duel against Howard Payne, who comes off a 93-88 loss at Concordia (TX) on Thursday night and looks to snap a four-game losing skid. Admission to Saturday’s game at the Mayborn Campus Center is free. UMHB is 20-3 at home against the Yellow Jackets since the 2000-01 season.
