Belton, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team built a double-digit halftime lead and then weathered University of the Ozarks rally in the second as the Cru posted an 89-73 victory over the Eagles Saturday in Belton. The Cru improves to 7-2 overall and 5-0 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The Ozarks falls to 2-8 overall and 1-5 in the ASC on the season with the loss.
UMHB scored the first seven points of the game and led by 10 points just 4:38 into the contest. The Cru would lead by 15 at the half, 45-27. The Eagles closed to within six points twice in the second half, the last time when Jermery Victor hit a three-pointer to close the gap to 65-59 with 8:56 remaining. Brian Todd hit a lay-in and Antonie Chaney added a three-pointer to push the lead back to double digits as the Cru lead grew to as many as 18 points in the final minutes.
James Allen led six players in double figures for UMHB with 17 points and he added seven assists and five rebounds. Cory Meals had 15 points, Thomas Orr chipped in 13, Chaney scored 11 in just 12 minutes of action and Todd scored 10. Kitrick Bell also posted his second straight double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. UMHB shot 51 percent from the field and out rebounded Ozarks 44-26. The Cru also hit 11-31 from beyond the arc.
Ronnie Dodd had a big game for Ozarks, leading all scorers with 24 points. Victor and Andrew Cummings added 11 points apiece. The Eagles shot 37 percent from the field and went 8-27 from three-point range in the loss.
The UMHB men will now have almost two weeks off before returning to action. The Cru will host the four-team Cru Holiday Classic on December 28th and 29th. The tournament will feature UMHB, Concordia Texas, Edgewood College and Rust College with games at 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM each day.