Alpine, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team used a career day from Russell Green and some key free throws in the final seconds to hold off Sul Ross State as the Cru escaped with an 80-74 overtime win over the Lobos Saturday in Alpine. UMHB improves to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The loss drops Sul Ross State to 1-6 overall and 1-1 in ASC play on the year.
The Cru took its first lead of the extra session on a pair of Jerard Graham free throws to make it 69-68. The two teams traded baskets before Jalen Jury's jumper gave UMHB a 75-72 lead with 58 seconds left. Graham and Russell Green combined for five free-throws to make it 80-72 Cru and UMHB held on for the win. The Cru built an eight-point lead with 8:09 left in the second half, but the Lobos chipped away to tie it at 66. Both teams had chances to win in the final seconds of regulation but missed shots. The first half featured four ties and a pair of lead changes before Sul Ross took a 36-32 lead into the break.
Green poured in a career-high 28 points and added 11 rebounds to lead UMHB to the victory. Graham added 15 points and seven boards while Jury chipped in 14 points and Justin Gammill added 12 more for the Cru. UMHB shot 41 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point range. The Cru also held a 45-42 rebounding edge over the Lobos in the game.
Luke Taylor led Sul Ross with 19 points. Rocky Feliciano had 15 points, Alex Harrison scored 14 and Mike Huffman also reached double figures with 11 for the Lobos. Darrell Gardener pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds while Huffman and Harrison grabbed seven boards apiece. Sul Ross shot 44 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point land.
The UMHB men will now return home and take a week off from play for finals. UMHB has played five of its first six games on the road this season. The Cru will host Concordia Texas for a 3:00 PM tip-off on Saturday, December 13th, before hosting Louisiana College for a 7:30 PM start at the Mayborn Campus Center on Thursday, December 18th.