UMHB men's basketball snaps losing skid with 25-point win at ETBU

MARSHALL, Texas — It would’ve been easy to throw in the towel. To quit on themselves, on the coaching staff, on the season, in the midst of a frustrating three-game losing skid.

But on Saturday afternoon, inside a gym where UMHB men’s basketball hadn’t won since Clif Carroll’s first season as head coach, The Cru showed their resilience. Not only did they get back in the win column for the first time since Jan. 30, but they did so by tying their largest margin of victory in a game this season, winning big at ETBU, 82-57.

“We’ve been through some tough times, and for this team to stick together and show the connectivity that they did today was really impressive,” Carroll said a few minutes after securing the win. “I can’t thank my players enough for really sticking together in the way that they have.”

It was a performance that knocked down many of the narratives and storylines that had followed them into Ornelas Gym on this mid-February weekend. For starters, they couldn’t seem to find an answer for defending the 3, the most glaring example coming two days prior when LeTourneau sank a program-record 20 3s in a 102-81 defeat of The Cru.

“Why are teams hitting so many 3s against us?,” Carroll said Thursday night. “It’s glaring. Everybody in the stands knows it. We’ve got to figure that out….because it’s not like it’s been that way all season.”

Against ETBU, they figured something out, resembling the team that graced the court in November, December, and January. They made life difficult for the Tigers on the offensive end all afternoon, as ETBU, who came in averaging 5.3 made 3s per game, went just 2-of-19 from 3-point range. The Tigers were 2-of-9 in the first half and followed that with 10 straight misses in the second, unable to find many open looks against UMHB’s defense.

And aside from leading scorer Jason Justice, who had 34 points, no other ETBU player tallied more than six. In fact, including Justice, only three Tigers converted on multiple field goal attempts, as ETBU shot for a season-low 30.8 percent.

“All we focused on today was making it tough for them to play,” Carroll said. “And we did. Justice had 34, but they were all tough shots. I think it’s a good sign. A lot of teams would’ve quit after the last couple weeks. A lot of teams would’ve folded and said, ‘Let’s go to spring break.’ I’m so proud of this team and grateful to these guys that they’ve stuck together, shown they have some resolve, and they now have an opportunity to get on a roll and maybe do something here at the end of the season.”

It seemed everyone was bought in, from the starting five of Josh Goings, Ryan Pondant, Eli Beard, Jerry Day Jr, and Donta Coady, to the five main contributors off the bench who accounted for 34 points. It wasn’t purely the efforts of one or two that led to UMHB’s 25-point victory, but rather a collective effort that put The Cru in position to extend its 37-29 halftime lead and outscore ETBU, 45-28, over the final 20 minutes.

Even after all the disappointment of watching things unravel for a span of time, the Crusaders found a way to reset in between the LeTourneau loss and Saturday’s win. The difference in the effort, chemistry, and as Carroll noted, trust, proved evident as UMHB’s will to win superseded any roadblocks ETBU tried to throw in their path.

“When you go through a stretch like we’ve gone through, the first thing that goes is your faith in each other,” Carroll said. “That was something that we really had to go search for yesterday. It was tough. Thursday night was hard. Obviously with my situation, getting dismissed from the game, and the way LeTourneau plowed over us, was disheartening. Finding faith in each other is not easy. I don’t know where it happened [yesterday], but they figured it out.”

UMHB fell behind 7-2, quickly answered, tying it at 9-9 on a layup from Beard. Just over a minute later, freshman Zach May knocked down a 3-pointer off a pass from Connor Zamiara, giving The Cru a 12-9 lead that stood until the final buzzer. By the 8:54 mark of the half, Goings extended it to eight, and while ETBU got it back to four twice, UMHB had an answer on both occasions. The Cru led by double digits for the bulk of the final three minutes, as Goings and Beard each pushed the advantage to 13 on separate plays down the stretch.

That carried into the second half, particularly in the run that put the game away. With 10:15 left, ETBU’s Jeremiah Smith cut the lead back to single digits, 54-45, on a free throw. It turned out to be the final time UMHB’s advantage dipped below 10, as ETBU’s three-minute scoring drought coincided with 12 unanswered points from The Cru. Maurice Pinnock’s 3-pointer at the 7:07 mark put an exclamation point on the run, giving the visitors from Belton a considerable 21-point lead.

“We weren’t perfect, but we played really hard, we played for each other, and we played together,” Carroll noted. “That goes a long way. Hopefully we reminded ourselves who we are, who we can be, and who we’re going to be, so we can get back on a roll and finish the season on a good note.”

If they have it their way, the season’s conclusion won’t come in the immediate future. There are three guaranteed games left: next week’s regular season homestand against Hardin-Simmons and Howard Payne, and an ASC Tournament game the following week. After that, the magic of tournament time will hopefully take over, and extend the season into March. Carroll believes his team is capable of a run through the ASC Tournament, just as they did back in the spring of 2022, and Saturday’s performance, while far from flawless, was a clear step in that direction.

“The job’s not done,” Carroll noted. “We’ve got a big week coming up, and a big tournament coming up. I’m telling you, there’s no reason why we can’t win this thing. But we’ve got to fix some things. We have to keep getting better. And it’s got to be something that’s a process. We’re not there, but I’m seeing a lot of good signs.”

Against ETBU, who has now dropped five straight and is 2-5 in ASC play, UMHB out-rebounded the Tigers by five, scored 44 points in the paint, 22 points off turnovers, and 18 second-chance points. They won virtually every positive stat category, and looked the part of a team that could catch fire come conference tournament time.

The level of opponent increases in difficulty next week, however, and that will be yet another test for The Cru. Hardin-Simmons is unbeaten in ASC play, at 7-0, and the 98-73 loss to Cowboys in Abilene is still fresh on the minds of Carroll’s squad. The Crusaders are all that stand in the way of HSU running the table in the conference, and it’s worth noting that UMHB has won every regular season meeting with the Cowboys in Belton since the 2017-18 campaign.

“I love playing in front of our crowd,” Carroll said. “They make it so much fun. Everyone knows the deal with Hardin-Simmons, so coming in Thursday night, that’s going to be a lot of fun. I hope we fill it all the way to the top, get rowdy and loud, and make it a special week for our seniors and players. Hopefully it allows us to continue some momentum, so we can come back out here to East Texas [for the ASC Tournament] and stay on a roll.”