Photo credit: Scott Burkhalter/HSU Athletics
ABILENE, Texas–In the span of 6.5 seconds, the UMHB men’s basketball team went from holding a one-point lead to standing stunned on the court at Hardin-Simmons University moments after a 78-77 defeat.
It was a season-ending defeat, a heartbreaker that denied UMHB a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, as well as an American Southwest Conference title. And it brought to an end the collegiate careers of Kyle Wright, Josiah Johnson, and Payton Brooks. All three were instrumental in UMHB’s recent success, and in the case of Johnson and Wright, both were part of head coach Clif Carroll’s first team in Belton four years ago.
The ASC championship game loss saw UT-Dallas emerge with a dramatic victory, as UTD drove the length of the floor before Donovan Souter let a high-arcing shot fly from short-range. The ball dropped through the net as the final buzzer sounded, and the Comets sprinted onto the court in triumph.
UT-Dallas booked its trip to the NCAA Tournament while UMHB ends its 2023-2024 campaign at 17-10 overall, having won eight straight–including a 76-69 win over host Hardin-Simmons in the ASC semifinals–entering Saturday’s matchup.
The fact that UMHB was even playing for the ASC crown was notable to begin with, considering The Cru began ASC play with a 3-4 record, and struggled early, before figuring things out over the second half of conference play. The exceptional stretch began with a Feb. 1 win over Sul Ross State, and carried UMHB into the postseason, with key victories over UT-Dallas and Hardin-Simmons along the way.
Of course, that fact did not make the disappointment of Saturday night’s loss any less. With 17 seconds left in the second half, UMHB led 77-71 after a pair of free throws from Johnson, but as it turned out, there was too much time left.
UTD answered with a 3-pointer from Nick Donnelly with 11.5 seconds to go, cutting the deficit to three. Then came a controversial jump-ball call that gave possession to UTD, off of which Luke Kiser scored on a layup and made it a one-point game with nine seconds to go. A missed UMHB free throw gave way to Souter’s game-winning play, as the UTD senior raced the length of the court and scored at the buzzer.
In retrospect, the jump-ball call was a turning point, made more impactful by the fact that UTD’s Kiser only got one hand on the ball, and UMHB’s Eli Beard had just over a second to establish possession after catching the inbounds pass before the whistle was blown. It gave the Comets an additional possession, and rather than Beard going to the free throw line after a reach-in foul to extend UMHB’s lead, UTD ended up with the ball underneath its own basket.
But there was more to the final stretch than that crucial call. Five turnovers within the final 3:02 also limited UMHB’s opportunities to gain separation as the clock wound down, and the Comets cut the deficit from six points to one.
But despite those miscues down the stretch, UMHB’s performance was exceptional in a game that lived up to the hype. In the postgame press conference on Friday night after beating Hardin-Simmons, UMHB head coach Clif Carroll jokingly noted that he wished he could take a seat in the stands for the matchup between his Crusaders and the Comets, referencing the high-level of play expected from the championship duel. He was spot on.
“It’s going to be two really good teams battling it out,” Carroll added. “They’ve got some real good players; Austin Page, Souter, [Luke] Kiser, and Donnelly are all really good players. They’re going to be physical and try to [get] it in to Page. We’re going to come up with a game plan and execute, and hopefully get them back on the offensive end and spread [our guys] out and get some buckets.”
Those “buckets” came early and often for The Cru, who shot 49.2 percent from the field and finished 10-of-23 from 3-point range. Josiah Johnson came through with 25 points, and Beard added 24, leading UMHB’s scoring production. UTD had similar success, shooting 45.6 percent, with 19 points off turnovers and 28 points in the paint. And Page was indeed a key factor in UTD’s performance, as he posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double.
The visitors from Belton went up 14-8 early on a fast-break layup from Beard, though UTD quickly reeled them back in, and tied the score on a 3-pointer from Thibaut Tagnon at the 12:19 mark. Tagnon scored on UTD’s ensuing possession as well, and gave the Comets the lead, but UMHB tied the score three times before regaining the advantage on a jumper from Beard. In all, the first half saw four lead changes, and was closely contested outside of the final three minutes, in which the Comet lead grew to 11.
UMHB answered that 9-0 run with a spurt of its own, however, and scored the final seven points of the first half. UTD led 37-33 at the intermission.
The Crusaders trailed for the first six minutes of the second half, before Beard again came up with a timely shot, and converted on a 3-pointer that knotted the score at 51 apiece. UMHB took back the lead with 11:54 left as Beard connected on his second 3-pointer of the half, putting The Cru in front, 54-53.
With 5:37 left in regulation, Johnson held the ball on the right wing, hesitated, then fired up a 3-point shot that swished home, giving UMHB a 67-65 advantage. The Cru maintained that lead up until Souter’s game-winning shot fell through the net for UTD.
Saturday marked the conclusion of a storied career for Johnson, who finished his collegiate career tied for 14th all-time amongst Division III players in career points, with 2,559. The native of Big Sandy, Texas, leaves UMHB as the program’s all-time leading scorer as well as the ASC’s career leader in points scored. He is also second all-time in UMHB history in career rebounds (707), No. 1 in free throws made (755), No. 1 in career minutes played (3,422), and No. 1 in career 3-pointers (265). He is the first UMHB player to make 200 or more 3-pointers in a career.
For the program, it marked UMHB’s sixth appearance in the ASC championship game. The Cru is 3-3 in those contests, which date back to the first appearance in 2008. The Crusaders have also won 16 or more games in all four of Carroll’s seasons as head coach, with two conference title game appearances in that span.
