BELTON — In a back-and-forth ASC opener that saw UMHB trail 37-30 at halftime but lead by 15 with 10:31 left, it was East Texas Baptist who wrote the game’s final chapter. The Tigers closed the second half by scoring seven unanswered points, coming from behind in a 65-63 victory on Thursday night, highlighted by Jason Justice’s go-ahead floater with four seconds left.
When Justice’s shot bounced in, it marked ETBU’s first lead of the second half, and while UMHB had one timeout remaining after that go-ahead score, The Cru instead looked to take advantage of the transition opportunity. Josh Goings quickly raced up the floor and put up a half-court shot that came close, but bounced off the back iron and ricocheted away from the basket as the final buzzer sounded.
ETBU’s dramatic comeback gave the Tigers their first victory in Belton since the 2014-15 season, when they won a 75-55 contest on Jan. 5, 2015. ETBU was 0-6 inside the Mayborn Campus Center under head coach Chris Lovell going into Thursday, including a loss in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and an ASC Tournament quarterfinal loss last season.
UMHB drops to 11-5 overall, while ETBU is now 6-13, with a 2-1 record in ASC play.
Game-SHifting Moment
The go-ahead score was the play that will be remembered, though the real shift came in ETBU’s two possessions that preceded it. With 1:16 left, Michael Roberts tracked down an offensive rebound for the Tigers and found Joshua Davis for a 3-pointer, cutting the Crusader lead to 63-61. A UMHB turnover then opened the door for Justice’s game-tying jumper at the 42-second mark, and a second-straight turnover by The Cru set up ETBU for the final shot—and eventual game-winner—with the shot clock turned off.
Impactful Stat
UMHB closed the game by shooting just 1-of-10 from the field, with Eli Beard’s jump shot—which saw him draw a foul and make the ensuing free throw for an old-fashioned three-point play—at the 2:14 mark being The Cru’s only field goal in the game’s final 9:28. Over both halves, UMHB converted on 43.1 percent of its shots, which was an improvement from The Cru’s shooting percentage of 40 percent in last Thursday’s 72-69 defeat at UT-Dallas. But in the last 10 minutes, UMHB was a mere 18.2 percent from the field (2-for-11). Conversely, ETBU was 6-of-15 in that same span.
Key Contributors
Ryan Pondant held his own in the low post against the Tigers’ forwards, posting his second double-double of the season. The Longview, Texas product grabbed 15 rebounds, the most by a UMHB player since Josiah Johnson’s 16 against Ozarks on Jan. 4, 2024. That came in addition to 10 points, which marked Pondant’s first double-digit scoring performance since the Dec. 5 home win over Concordia (TX).
Freshman Zach May also stepped up with 14 minutes off the bench, shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc for a career-high nine points. May was the only Crusader on Thursday night to convert on a 3-point attempt.
Michael Roberts finished with a team-high 19 points for ETBU, highlighted by his 4-of-6 shooting performance from 3-point range. Roberts also tallied 15 rebounds, as the 6’6 forward turned in his second double-double in the last three games.
What’s Next?
UMHB now looks to split its first conference home weekend, hosting a top-quality LeTourneau team on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. The Yellowjackets are 7-11 overall, 1-1 in ASC play, and coming off a 72-69 win at UT-Dallas on Thursday night. ETBU heads to Richardson for a matchup against UTD on Saturday afternoon.
