Clarksville, AR - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team struggled to put the University of the Ozarks away, but the Cru took control of the game with a late run to cruise to a 90-78 victory over the Eagles Thursday night in Clarksville, Arkansas. The 9th-ranked UMHB men improve to 11-0 overall and 7-0 in American Southwest Conference play with the win. The loss drops Ozarks to 2-9 overall and 0-8 in ASC play on the season.
There were five ties and four lead changes in a see-saw first-half as the Eagles took a 44-43 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Cru would lead much of the second half, but could not push the margin past four points until Sterling Phillips hit a jumper to make it 76-71 with 5:00 remaining. An Ozarks lay-up cut the gap to 76-73, but Marlon Miller and Phillips hit back-to-back three's to give UMHB an 82-73 lead with 3:29 left to play. The Eagles would not get closer than eight points the rest of the way as the Cru closed the game on a 14-5 run.
Miller led UMHB with 24 points and he was 3-6 from three-point range. Phillips added 16 points on 7-13 shooting. Brian Todd and Kitrick Bell scored 10 points apiece and Todd also pulled down a team-best nine rebounds.
Ronnie Dodd poured in 25 points to lead the Eagles and he scored 17 of those points in the first half. Marcus Bobb added 18 points, Joshua Clark had 13 off the bench and David Robertson scored 12. Dodd and Clark both pulled down nine rebounds for Ozarks.
UMHB shot 59 percent in the second half and out rebounded the Eagles 44-39. The Cru also turned the ball over just five times in the victory.
UMHB will close out ASC cross-over play with a 3:00 PM tip-off at U.T.-Dallas Saturday in Richardson. The Cru will then return home to host Concordia Texas in an ASC West Division showdown next Tuesday night at the Mayborn Campus Center.