| Marlon Miller scored a game-high 21 points in the Cru's win. UMHB athletics photo |
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team gave up the first 11 points of the game, but the Cru stormed back with a huge second-half rally to edge Hardin-Simmons University 75-73 in an overtime thriller Thursday night in Abilene.
UMHB, ranked 6th in the country by D3hoops.com, improves to 16-0 overall and 12-0 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The Cowboys fall to 12-3 overall and 9-2 in ASC play on the season with the loss. The Cru also leads HSU by two and a half games in the ASC West Division now. The ASC West Division champion will host the ASC Championship Tournament this season.
UMHB trailed by 14 at halftime and by as many as 16 points early in the second half before starting the comeback. The Cru cut it to five with 12:42 left before another Cowboy run pushed the lead back to 13. UMHB used a 20-7 run to tie the game at 63 on a pair of Thomas Orr free throws with 3:25 remaining. Andy Spears hit two free throws to put HSU up 65-63 with 3:08 on the clock, but the Cowboys did not score again in regulation. Brian Todd tied it at 65 with two free throws with 2:22 to go and neither team could score again as the game moved to the extra session. HSU took an early three-point lead in overtime, but Dorian Purnell had a tip-in and jumper to give the Cru its first lead of the game at 69-68. The Cowboys tied the game with a free throw before Marlon Miller hit a jumper to put UMHB up 71-69 with 1:26 to go. HSU's John Derr tied the game with a jumper before Miller's two free throws put the Cru up 73-71 with 19 seconds remaining. Jim Walter was fouled on a three-point try, but missed his first free throw. He made the next two to tie it again at 73 with 0:07 on the clock. UMHB quickly pushed the ball up court and Thomas Orr was fouled with 2.1 ticks left. He calmly sank both free throws and the Cowboys last ditch effort was off the mark as time expired.
The Cowboys opened the game with an 11-0 run before Kitrick Bell finally put the Cru on the board with a lay-up at the 11:18 mark of the first half. UMHB would cut it to 11-7 before HSU turned it on again, leading by as many as 16 points before settling for that 33-19 halftime lead.
Miller led the Cru with 21 points and Todd added 16 more. Bell and Orr both chipped in with 11 points off the bench. Greg Wiernas pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds for UMHB. The Cru shot just 20 percent from the field in the first half, but hit 61 percent in the second. UMHB also went 20-22 from the free throw line in the second half and overtime.
Derrick Jefferson led HSU with 20 points and nine rebounds. Walter added 13 points and Spears had 10. The Cowboys shot 42 percent from the field but went just 11-22 from the free throw line. HSU played without leading scorer Matt Addison in the loss.
The Cru will wrap up its Abilene road swing with a 3:00 PM tipoff against McMurry on Saturday. The UMHB men will then return home to host Howard Payne and Sul Ross State next Thursday and Saturday at the Mayborn Campus Center.