UMHB men's basketball heads into final road trip of regular season in East Texas

This Week

UMHB is back on the road, heading into the second-to-last week of the regular season. The Cru is 4-3 against D3 opponents in true road games this season.
The Cru faces LeTourneau and ETBU, the same two opponents they opened ASC play against three weeks ago in Belton.
At 2-2 in ASC play, UMHB is one of just two ASC teams at or above .500 against league opponents (first-place Hardin-Simmons at 6-0 is the other). Both LETU and ETBU are 2-4.

Storylines

Last Thursday’s 78-73 loss to UT-Dallas brought about the third instance this season in which The Cru has lost back-to-back contests. UMHB aims to snap that losing skid at LETU on Thursday, having not dropped three straight at any point this year.
UMHB comes into the week leading the ASC in scoring defense, allowing 72.4 points per game. A big part of that has been The Cru’s ability to contest shots and force opponents into difficult spots on the floor, evidenced by a 40.3% shooting percentage from opponents—the lowest in the ASC. That said, opponents have shot 37.2% from 3-point range within ASC play, the second-highest percentage against any defense in the league.
The ability to force turnovers and push the pace from those has been extremely beneficial at times this season. The Cru ranks No. 2 in the ASC in turnover margin (0.67) and No. 1 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.05) within league play, and has tallied more points off turnovers than its opponent in four of its last five games.
Senior guard Eli Beard is averaging 23.0 points per game within ASC play, the second-most of any ASC player. Junior guard Josh Goings ranks No. 8 on the ASC leaderboard, with 15.0 PPG in conference action.
On pace for 1K: Beard is just 66 points away from reaching the career 1,000 point mark in a UMHB uniform. He has 431 points in 20 starts in 2024-25 along with 503 total points as a junior last winter.
UMHB is seeking its first win at ETBU since Jan. 2, 2021.

Last Time They Met

UMHB opened ASC play against ETBU on Jan. 23 in a thriller in Belton, falling 65-63 on a last-second shot by the Tigers’ Jason Justice. After climbing back from a 37-30 halftime deficit, UMHB turned it over twice in the final minute as Justice scored on consecutive possessions for ETBU, including the game-winner with two seconds left.
The Cru bounced back two days later in the first meeting of the season against LETU, putting together a strong second half on the offensive end. UMHB outscored the Yellowjackets, 54-34, over the final 20 minutes, winning in convincing fashion, 94-71.

Scouting the Yellowjackets

LETU is led by the No. 2 active scorer in Division III, Deonte Jackson. The 5’9 senior guard has 2,181 career points, the second-most by an active player in the country behind Mount Union’s Christian Parker. Jackson averages 23.2 PPG and is LETU’s go-to on the offensive end, with his exceptional shot-making ability and dynamic ball-handling. He is the primary offensive threat, at least until the opposing defense starts slowing him down and forcing more shots from the other four players on the floor.
To that point, LETU has additional scoring options aside from Jackson. Caedmon Liebengood averages 15.7 PPG and Jackson Mayes has 14.5 PPG, contributing greatly to LETU’s 83.4 PPG, which ranks No. 2 in the ASC.
The Yellowjackets are 8-2 at home this season, and come in looking to snap a two-game losing skid on Thursday night. Including the loss to UMHB on Jan. 25, LETU is 1-3 in its last 4.

Scouting the Tigers

Justice remains the centerpiece of what ETBU does on the offensive end. Averaging 18.2 PPG and 25.0 PPG in ASC play, the junior from Dallas leads ETBU in both scoring and assists (59 total assists this season). He has put up three-straight 20-point performances, including 31 in a 119-89 loss to Howard Payne last Thursday night.
Michael Roberts is one of the ASC’s top post players, ranking second in the conference in rebounds (8.3 RPG) and third in total blocks (30). The 6’6 junior is the only Tiger to have started all 23 games this season.
ETBU is just 1-6 inside Ornelas Gym this season and seeking to break a four-game losing stretch on Saturday with just two games left on its regular season slate. ETBU’s last win came on Jan. 23 in the two-point defeat of UMHB in Belton.

Follow the Action

Thursday’s game in Longview will be broadcasted live at 7:30 p.m. on letuathletics.com.
Saturday’s 3 p.m. duel from Marshall can be seen on goetbutigers.com.
Check back on TrueToTheCru.com for postgame stories after both contests, including postgame thoughts from head coach Clif Carroll.