Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team almost saw a double-digit second half lead slip away, but the Cru held off U.T.-Dallas with clutch free-throw shooting in the final minutes of a 75-71 victory over the nationally-ranked Comets. The UMHB men improve to 17-8 overall and 15-7 in American Southwest Conference play with their eighth straight victory. The loss snaps UTD's seven-game winning streak and drops the 17th-ranked Comets to 22-3 overall and 20-2 in the ASC.
The Comets jumped out to a 7-6 lead to open the game, but the Cru went on a 14-0 run to grab a 20-7 lead. UTD would not get closer than ten points the rest of the first half and UMHB led 38-25 at the break. James Allen opened the second half with a three-pointer and added two free throws to put the Cru on top by 18 before the Comets started to chip away. Kyle Schleigh hit back-to-back jumpers to cut the gap to 52-49 with 8:48 remaining, but Allen answered with a three at the other end. The lead would grow to eight before UTD pulled to within 61-59 with 2:58 left. The two teams traded buckets before UMHB used a 4-0 run to stretch the lead back to two possessions, The Comets would get as close as three points on Matthew Medell's three-pointer, but Antonie Chaney, Kitrick Bell and Jerard Graham hit free throws down the stretch to ice the win.
Graham led the Cru with 19 points and he added 12 rebounds. Bell also recorded a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 14 boards. Allen had 16 points and Russell Green scored 10 off the bench. UMHB shot 47 percent from the field in the first half and out rebounded the Comets 42-31. The Cru also committed just eight turnovers in the game.
Schleigh had a monster game for the Comets, finishing with 33 points and nine rebounds. Medell chipped in 13 points. UTD shot just 33 percent from the field in the first half and finished at 45 percent for the game. The Comets were 8-28 from three-point range compared to the Cru's 3-21 from beyond the arc.
UMHB clinches the #3 seed in the ASC Championship Tournament with the victory. The Cru will open the tournament with a 12:00 PM First Round game on Friday. The complete bracket will be released next Tuesday. U.T.-Dallas will host the ASC Tournament on its Richardson campus and will be the #1 seed.