BELTON — On four occasions over his two seasons at UMHB, Eli Beard has turned in a 30-point performance. The first two came last season. The last two have been during the current season, one that has seen Beard average 22.4 points per game for The Cru, who are 12-5.
But only one of those four high-scoring days for Beard has played out inside UMHB’s Mayborn Campus Center. That one instance came on Saturday afternoon, as Beard put up 34 points, spearheading an offensive charge in which the Crusaders converted on 56.3% of their shots and outscored LeTourneau by 20 in the second half of a 94-71 win.
Beard, a senior from Big Sandy, Texas, scored at least 30 against LETU for the second time in his career, having put up 30 in UMHB’s 93-92 loss in Longview last season.
In this particular meeting with the Yellow Jackets, Beard shot 11-of-20 from the field and a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line, scoring exactly 17 points in each of the game’s two halves.
Early in the first half, LETU grabbed a lead, going up 8-4 by the 17:24 mark. But consecutive scores from Josh Goings and Beard composed a 7-0 run, pushing UMHB in front, 11-8. Then came a dunk from Caedmon Liebengood as LETU continued pushing the pace whenever presented the opportunity, off both defensive rebounds and UMHB turnovers.
But the Crusader lead stayed at one for a mere 42 seconds. Jerry Day Jr. converted on a jumper at the 14:48 mark followed immediately by five unanswered points from Beard. It was the beginnings of a 13-0 run for The Cru, one that also saw Co Rose come up with a steal, dish out an assist, and score on a jumper of his own, with UMHB taking a 24-10 lead in a little over two-and-a-half minutes.
LETU, as expected, quickly answered with a flurry of its own, led by three straight scores from Jackson Mayes. A senior guard, Mayes finished with nine points, six of which came in a 76-second span, helping pull the Yellow Jackets back within six. A 5-0 run from LETU just minutes later put the visitors from Longview within three points of the UMHB lead, and for the final seven minutes, the margin never grew wider than seven. For every LETU score, The Cru seemed to have an answer of their own on the other end. Twice the Yellow Jackets brought the deficit within two, only for Beard, then Maurice Pinnock, to counter in both cases, stretching the lead back to two possessions.
Through the first 10 minutes of the second half, a similar pattern unfolded. UMHB’s lead stayed within single digits for the opening 6:15, with both sides finding a steady dose of success on offense. By the time the clock dipped below 10 minutes, however, The Cru had grabbed all the momentum. On one play, Goings sprinted from the top of the arc and took a circular route towards the rim from the right side, catching a perfect pass from Beard while in the air. Goings finished with a layup that electrified the home crowd, and that was followed by Daniel Hutson’s coast-to-coast layup, which saw him grab a steal on the defensive end, race up the left sideline a step ahead of the LETU defender, and finish with a layup of his own for a 14-point lead.
A 9-3 run came on the heels of that layup, with UMHB separating itself down the stretch. The Cru went up by as many as 26 on Goings’ short-range jumper with 3:17 left, and UMHB’s lead remained above 20 for the final 5:06.
In addition to Beard’s scoring, Goings was a key piece in The Cru’s 94-point output. The Salado native had 21 points on a very efficient 10-of-13 shooting mark, and added three assists as well. Maurice Pinnock contributed off the bench with 14 points.
Game Notes
- The Cru’s 94 points were the most they have scored against a Division III opponent this season. It also marked just the third time this year that UMHB eclipsed 90 points.
- UMHB’s shooting percentage of 56.3% was also a season-high for The Cru, besting the 55.4% they shot against St. Thomas on Dec. 3. The Crusaders have finished at or above 50% from the field in eight games this season
- Beard’s 9-for-9 mark at the free throw line is the most made free throws in a single game for a Crusader this season.
- UMHB is now 5-0 against LETU at home in the Clif Carroll era.
What’s Next
A difficult West Texas road trip awaits next week. The Cru faces the nation’s fourth-best scoring offense on Thursday night in Brownwood, as Howard Payne (8-10, 0-3 ASC) averages 100.3 points per game. UMHB then visits Hardin-Simmons (10-8, 3-0 ASC) on Saturday, with the Cowboys opening the week as the league’s lone undefeated team within conference play.
