Pineville, LA – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team could not overcome a cold night from the free-throw line as the Cru lost a 60-53 decision to Louisiana College Thursday night in Pineville. The loss drops the UMHB men to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in American Southwest Conference play on the season. The Wildcats improve to 4-2 overall and 4-0 in the ASC with the victory.
LC scored the game's first five points and opened up a ten-point lead at 22-12 midway through the first half. UMHB battled back to take a 29-28 lead with 3:59 left to play in the first. The two teams traded the lead before James Allen's lay-in gave the Cru a 37-36 halftime edge. UMHB would lead by as many as six points in the second half before the Wildcats retook the lead at 53-51 on Kevin Cottonham's three-point play with 5:04 remaining. Antonie Chaney tied the game at 53 with a pair of free throws four seconds later, but the Cru would not score again, missing three free-throws and three three-point shots in the final minutes as LC pulled away for the victory.
Allen topped the Cru with 18 points, but went 0-5 from the stripe. Kitrick Bell had a double-double with 11 points and 17 rebounds for UMHB. The Cru shot just 18 per cent from the field in the second half and finished at 33 per cent from the floor in the game. UMHB went just 5-13 from the free-throw line in the game, hitting just 2-7 in the second half.
Kevin Lewis led four players in double figures with 16 points for the Wildcats. Anthony Gaines and Doc Welch scored 12 apiece and Cottonham finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. LC shot 44 per cent from the field in game and hit 7-11 free-throws in the victory.
The Cru will continue its road trip with a 3:00 PM tip-off against Mississippi College Saturday afternoon in Clinton, Mississippi. The UMHB men will then be off until January 2nd for the Christmas break.