Pineville, Louisiana – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team opened the second half with a surge to get back into the game, only to see Louisiana College pull away once again as the Wildcats went on to a 66-50 victory over the Cru Saturday afternoon in Pineville, Louisiana. The UMHB men drop to 13-6 overall and 10-4 in American Southwest Conference play with the loss. Louisiana College improves to 10-7 overall and 10-4 in the ASC with the victory.

The Wildcats scored the game's first seven points and led by as many as ten points in the first half before settling for a 30-23 halftime lead. UMHB opened the second half with an 8-0 run to take its only lead of the game at 31-30. Louisiana College pushed the lead back to double figures with ten minutes remaining and the Cru never got closer than seven points the rest of the way in the loss.

Jerard Graham led UMHB with 14 points, but he was held until 20 for the first time in the Cru's last nine games. Russell Green had eight points and Cole Hopkins and Jalen Jury scored seven points apiece. UMHB shot 39 percent from the field as a team but hit just 3-16 from three-point range. The Cru also turned the ball over 17 times while forcing just seven Wildcat turnovers.

Anthony Gaines, Jr. topped LC with 21 points and he added 11 rebounds. Steve Evans also had a double-double as he added 13 points and 10 boards for the Wildcats. Dillon Mandeville also reached double figures for Louisiana College with 12 points. The Wildcats shot 43 percent from the field and went 6-20 from beyond the arc. Both teams grabbed 35 rebounds in the game.

The Cru will continue a four-game road swing with two more ASC contests next week. UMHB opens the week with a 7:30 PM tip-off at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall on Thursday. The Cru will then close out the week with a 3:00 PM start at LeTourneau University in Longview next Saturday.