Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team used a huge advantage from the free-throw line to hold off a feisty Mississippi College team as the Cru posted a 78-70 victory over the Choctaws Saturday afternoon in Belton. The UMHB men improve to 11-8 overall and 9-7 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops Mississippi College to 7-11 overall and 5-10 in the ASC on the year.

The Cru was cold early, falling behind 5-0 and not making a basket until the 15:21 mark. UMHB would then build a seven-point lead before the Choctaws chipped away. Emmanuel Ezejiofo hit two free throws to cut the gap to 34-32 with six seconds left in the first half, but Kitrick Bell's turn-around jumper at the buzzer gave UMHB a 36-32 halftime lead. The Choctaws battled back to take a 44-42 lead in the second before James Allen buried a three-pointer to put the Cru back on top for good. The lead would grow to as many as ten points in the late going as UMHB iced the game from the free-throw line.

Allen topped the Cru with 22 points and he hit 4-7 from three-point range. Jerard Graham added 19 points and Bell had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Layton Zinsmeister added eight points, five assists and five rebounds. UMHB shot 35 percent from the field in the game, but went 41-51 from the charity stripe to match the second-highest single game total of made free-throws in the Division III era. The Cru was also 7-16 from beyond the arc.

Jay Case led the Choctaws with 15 points as he hit 5-6 from three-point range. Jaron Edwards had 13 points and Ezejiofo chipped 13 points and a team-high eight boards. Kelvin Smith also reached double figures with 10 points off the bench. Mississippi College shot 42 percent from the field and went 16-21 from the free-throw line.

The game was chippy throughout as the two teams combined for four technical fouls and 52 total fouls. The Choctaws were whistled for 33 of those fouls in the contest.

The game was likely the final meeting between the two teams as Mississippi College transitions to NCAA Division II next season. The Cru men will continue their home stand with two more games next week. UMHB will face LeTourneau University in a 7:30 PM start next Thursday before taking on East Texas Baptist University in a 3:00 PM tip-off next Saturday at the Mayborn Campus Center.