BELTON, TX - Mississippi College senior Greg Pulliam scored a career-high 26 points, but Mary Hardin-Baylor held off a late Choctaw rally for an 84-70 victory on Thursday night in the Mayborn Campus Center.
The Choctaws opened the game with an 8-2 lead, but the Cru came back to take a 41-33 lead into the halftime break.
UMHB opened the second half on a 13-2 run to take a 54-35 lead with 15:48 to go in the game. Pulliam kept the Choctaws in the game, helping to cut the lead to 63-57 with 6:28 remaining.
Marlon Miller of the Cru scored 15 points in the final minutes to help pull away for the victory. In the game, Miller scored 36 points, making 4-9 three pointers and 10-10 free throws.
Pulliam went 12-22 from the floor, while sophomore Brandon Blake also scored a career-high 20 points on 9-14 shooting. The high-scorers for the Choctaws struggled from the free throw line, only making 1-10. As a team, MC only made 3-15 from the foul line.
Junior Terencio Powell scored 12 points in 14 minutes off the bench, making 2-3 three-pointers. For the game, the Choctaws shot 53% from the floor, including a 60% (15-25) clip in the first half.
MC outrebounded the Cru, 38-31, but 26 turnovers kept the Choctaws from coming all the way back. Blake led the team with eight boards, while senior Chad Jones also pulled down seven.
For UMHB, Kitrick Bell was the only other player in double-figures with 12 points.
The Choctaws will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Austin, TX to face Concordia Texas at 3:00 p.m.