BELTON–The postseason has arrived, and it tips off for the UMHB men’s basketball team on Tuesday night with a home quarterfinal matchup against East Texas Baptist. The fourth-seeded Cru and the fifth-seeded Tigers each enter this matchup with multi-game win streaks, and will seek to extend those in a win-or-go-home situation inside the Mayborn Campus Center. A victory for The Cru would mark just the third season within the last decade in which UMHB tallies at least one win in the ASC Tournament.
Setting the Stage
East Texas Baptist (15-10, 10-6 ASC) at Mary Hardin-Baylor (15-9, 10-6 ASC)
Date/Time: February 20, 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Mayborn Campus Center, Belton, Texas
BROADCAST: Jordan Cox (play-by-play) and Carey Leech (color) will have the call on cruathletics.com.
LIVE STATS: Live stats can be found at cruathletics.com.
ADMISSION: Admission to Tuesday’s contest is free.
The Series
UMHB is 22-13 against ETBU dating back to the 2002-2003 season. The Cru have won three of the last four meetings and are 6-3 in matchups against the Tigers under fourth-year head coach Clif Carroll. Including Tuesday’s duel, four of the last five contests between UMHB and ETBU have been played in Belton, with the most recent meeting being a 79-69 win for The Cru earlier this season on Dec. 9, 2023.
These two programs have met four times in the postseason—three of which have been in the ASC Tournament—within the last decade. UMHB is 2-2 in those games, with the most recent win coming in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on March 4, 2023.
Summing up the regular season
ETBU: The Tigers were picked to finish first in the preseason poll, but struggled early, losing three of their first five league games. That came after a difficult start to the season yielded an 0-3 record in losses to Pomona-Pitzer, Redlands, and St. Thomas (TX) and it wasn’t until Nov. 30 that ETBU earned its first win. In late January, ETBU found a rhythm with three straight ASC wins, including a home win over UMHB and the Tigers closed the regular season with four straight victories, including a 68-66 win over ASC Co-Champ UT-Dallas this past Saturday.
UMHB: The Cru opened the year with two big wins in Illinois against UW-Stout and Illinois Wesleyan, but then dropped four straight, including the ASC opener at Concordia. Three straight wins between Dec. 16 and Jan. 4 put UMHB back on track before The Cru surrendered a halftime lead in a frustrating 91-75 loss to UT-Dallas at home. UMHB went 2-3 over the next two weeks before beginning a six-game win streak. The Cru beat both UT-Dallas and Hardin-Simmons within that span, and enters the ASC Tournament with the longest win streak of any team in the ASC.
Players to Watch
ETBU | Darry Moore, Forward | At 6-foot-7, Moore is a strong post player who leads ETBU in both scoring (18.1 points per game) and rebounding (8.6 boards per game). The senior from Tyler, Texas has started in all 25 games this year, and had 17 points in the last contest against UMHB.
UMHB | Josiah Johnson, Guard | The ASC record-holder for career points, Johnson is a tough matchup for any defense with his ability to drive to the rim (and get fouled in the process) along with a strong 3-point shooting ability. Averaging a league-best 23.8 points per game, the senior is also second in the ASC in rebounds per game (9.0). He is also shooting 90.4 percent at the free throw line this season.
ETBU | Kurt Labeaud, Guard | While Labeaud can certainly score when needed, his biggest strength is his vision on the floor and passing ability. With the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the ASC (2.1) as well as the fourth-most assists per game (3.7), the New Orleans native is a key part of ETBU’s scoring attack when he is on the floor.
UMHB | Eli Beard, Guard | Like Johnson, Beard is a native of Big Sandy, Texas, and has been one of the top newcomers in the ASC this season. Averaging 18.4 points per game, Beard is a prolific scorer with a solid mid-range jumper and enters the ASC Tournament having tallied nine straight double-digit scoring performances. His shooting percentage of 50.3 percent also ranks sixth in the conference.
ETBU | Ryan Elzy, Guard | A top-level defender for ETBU, Elzy is an experienced junior who has started in all 25 games this season. He leads the team in steals (37) and had five in wins over Ozarks and UTD this past week. The Hammond, Louisiana product also averages 9.0 points per game.
UMHB | Josh Goings, Guard | A mid-season transfer from D2 Trevecca Nazarene, Goings has made an immediate impact. The Salado, Texas native has already tallied two performances of 20 points or more, and is also a quality defender who has helped UMHB tremendously on both ends of the floor. It is also worth noting that UMHB is 4-1 in games in which Goings has played 20+ minutes.
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On their home court
This marks the third straight season in which UMHB will play at least one ASC Tournament game in Belton. Within that span, The Cru is 3-1, and won the 2022 ASC Tournament at home, before reaching the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. On the season, UMHB is 9-1 at the Mayborn Campus Center, and has not lost to ETBU at home since Jan. 5, 2015. The Crusaders have tallied seven straight home wins against the Tigers.
High-Scoring Success
On Saturday, UMHB recorded consecutive games of at least 110 points for the first time in the program’s D-III history. The Cru beat McMurry in overtime, 110-102, on Thursday, and then outscored Hardin-Simmons 110-91 in the regular season finale. UMHB is now the No. 2 offense in the ASC in terms of scoring production (84.5 points per game) and is also the only team the league with two scorers in the ASC’s Top 10 in points per game, with Josiah Johnson (No. 1, 23.8 PPG), and Eli Beard (No. 6, 18.4 PPG).
Record Watch
Josiah Johnson is currently UMHB’s program leader in career points and career steals, and ranks second in career rebounds. He needs just nine assists to pass Brandon Gatlin (2002-2005) for the No. 2 mark in UMHB history in career assists, as Johnson enters Tuesday’s game with 320.
As a team, UMHB is shooting 80.7 percent from the free throw line, an average that would finish as the No. 1 mark in program history for single-season team free throw shooting percentage. The previous season-high was set in 2021-22, when The Cru finished the year at 79.2 percent.
Looking Ahead
The winner of this matchup moves on to Friday’s ASC semifinal duel at 7:30 p.m. in Abilene, and will face top-seeded Hardin-Simmons.
