Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team heated up in the second half and the Cru posted a crucial 74-65 over Howard Payne Saturday in Brownwood. UMHB improves to 8-15 overall and 4-9 in American Southwest Conference play with the win. The loss drops the Yellow Jackets to 9-15 overall and 4-9 in the ASC on the year.

Howard Payne jumped out to an 11-point lead midway through the first half before the Cru fought back to cut it to 32-29 at halftime. UMHB then opened the second half with a 14-8 run to grab a 43-40 lead. The Cru would stretch the lead to 59-50 with 4:35 left to play. Howard Payne would close to within three at 63-60 with 1:47 remaining but UMHB scored the next five points to take control of the game and coast to the victory.

Layton Zinsmeister led the Cru with a career-high 16 points and he was 3-3 on three pointers. Sidney Deloach added 11 points and Blaine Bronnon chipped in 10. UMHB shot 61 percent from the field in the second half and hit 45 percent for the game. The Cru also went 24-34 from the free-throw line.

Howard Payne was led by D.J. Gardner's 16 points and Bryan Adams added 15 more. The Yellow Jackets shot 39 percent from the field and out rebounded the Cru 46-30. HPU committed 21 turnovers while forcing just 11 in the loss.

The win moves UMHB into a tie with HPU for the fourth and final West Division berth in the ASC Championship Tournament. The Cru also holds the tiebreaker over the Yellow Jackets with one conference game remaining for each team. UMHB will now return home to close out the regular season with two games next week. The Cru will host McMurry for a 7:30 PM tip on Thursday before welcoming Hardin-Simmons to the Mayborn Campus Center for a 3:00 PM start next Saturday.