File photo of Eli Beard, who led UMHB with 24 points on Thursday night, by Russell Marwitz/russellmarwitz.com/True To The Cru
AUSTIN — In each of the last two seasons, UMHB men’s basketball came up just short of victory inside the Concordia Fieldhouse.
On Dec. 3, 2022, The Cru led at halftime, only to be outscored, 41-34, in the second half of an 81-77 defeat. Last season, it was the same song, second verse, as the Crusaders saw a six-point halftime lead erased when the Tornado offense put 50 points on the board over the final 20 minutes in an 88-82 Concordia win.
But on Thursday night, in UMHB’s first game of the 2024-25 season in the Lone Star State, The Cru changed that. The Crusaders found their way into the win column at Concordia for the first time since Feb, 14, 2022, beating the Tornados, 89-83. The Cru, now 2-1, turns its focus towards Saturday’s 6 p.m. home opener at the Mayborn Campus Center against Texas Lutheran.
Eli Beard led the effort, putting up 24 points, his fourth-straight performance of 20 points or more dating back to last season’s ASC Tournament final. He wasn’t the only Crusader to contribute in the scoring column, however, in what was an up-tempo battle. Ryan Pondant, who had four of UMHB’s first five points, had 14, as did guard Coco Rose, a transfer from McMurry, and wing Zachary Engels. Josh Goings had 10 points, giving The Cru five double-digit scorers in what is their first 80+ point performance of the season.
Unlike the previous two meetings in Austin, where UMHB led at halftime, The Cru entered the second half trailing…by 10. It seemed the deficit worked to their advantage, as they put together an exceptional second half on both ends of the floor, outscoring the Tornados, 53-37, over the final 20 minutes. Concordia’s double-digit lead held for the first four minutes of the second half until Rose connected on a jumper that cut the deficit to eight.
It sparked a momentum-shifting 15-0 run from UMHB, as The Cru tied the score on a layup from Goings before taking the lead on the ensuing possession. Goings came through with that score, too, converting on a 3-pointer after taking a pass from Engels, as UMHB went in front, 55-52. Daniel Hudson added a layup for good measure, as the Crusaders found themselves up by two possessions after trailing by 10 just four minutes prior. UMHB never trailed from that point on.
The Cru went up by 11 at the 8:16 mark on a Beard 3-pointer and the advantage was firmly in their control, widened to as many as 16 on a pair of free throws from B.J. Anderson. Concordia cut the lead back to six three times in the final minute, but the Tornados never came any closer. UMHB left no doubt in its victory on Thursday night.
The conclusion of the story of the win played out much differently than its first chapter. Because early on, Concordia was the team on the roll. UMHB took a 10-5 lead by the 15:00 mark, but just over two minutes later, with 12:45 remaining in the half, the hosts seized the lead, with Caleb Golden’s jumper that came exactly 60 seconds after Joey Ramirez’s jumper brought Concordia within a point of tying the score. The 13-12 lead soon became 16-12, then 18-14, then 20-14. In all, an 11-2 run that briefly put Concordia up eight, before six straight points from UMHB put a stop to it. Then the Tornados surged again, with seven unanswered points of their own. It continued in that fashion for the remainder of the half, and it was Concordia who struck last, with a 6-0 run going into the break.
Of course, UMHB’s second-half comeback followed, sealing a road win that more than anything, gives the Crusaders a dose of confidence as they make a steady climb towards what will be a critical month of December. UMHB will play nine times in December, including matchups against No. 24 Cal Lutheran and No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan in that span.
Notables
- Thursday marked the first time since Feb. 10, 2024 that UMHB had five double-digit scorers in a single game.
- The 105-103 win over Ozarks last season was the only contest out of 27 in which UMHB had five players score at least 10 points, making Thursday’s performance just the second such occurence since the beginning of the 2023-24 season.
- Ryan Pondant grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for UMHB, his first game with double figures in the rebounding category this season. He tallied three offensive rebounds for the second time in three games.
- Pondant, a senior forward in his second year with the program, now has five career games at UMHB with 10+ boards.
- UMHB shot exactly 50% from the field (32-of-64), and recorded a shooting percentage of .500 or better for the second straight game.
- The last time The Cru had back-to-back games of shooting 50% or better was Feb. 16-18, 2023, when a 97-79 win over McMurry (54.3%) was followed by a 95-90 victory at Hardin-Simmons (54%).
- The six-point margin of victory marked the sixth time in the last seven games of the series between UMHB and Concordia that a contest was decided by single digits. That streak dates back to the second meeting of the 2021-22 season.
- The only exception was The Cru’s 94-64 win in Belton last season, on Jan. 20, 2024.
Up Next
Texas Lutheran is 1-1 heading into Saturday’s matchup in Belton, having lost to Hardin-Simmons, 87-76, before getting its first win of the season, 95-79, at home against Howard Payne. TLU won last year’s meeting with UMHB in Seguin, 78-77, when The Cru was ranked 15th in the nation. UMHB is 3-1 in home openers under head coach Clif Carroll and has won its first home game of the season in each of the previous three years.
