Clarksville, Arkansas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team stormed back from a 22-point second-half deficit, but the comeback fell short in a 104-92 loss to University of the Ozarks Tuesday night in Arkansas. The Cru drops to 2-3 overall and 0-1 in American Southwest Conference play with the loss. The Eagles improve to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the ASC with the victory.

Ozarks opened the game with a 13-2 run but UMHB battled back to tie the game at 17-17. The Eagles retook the lead and held a 42-34 edge at halftime. Ozarks hit a three-pointer to open the second half and hot shooting carried the Eagles out to an 88-66 lead with 8:37 remaining in the game. The Cru answered with an 18-5 run to cut the gap to 93-84 with 3:28 left to play, but that's as close as UMHB would get.

Demarius Cress hit 4-8 from three-point range to pour in a season-high 34 points to lead the Cru. Braden Hammond added 17 points and a team-best 10 rebounds and Aubrie King also had 17 points to go with eight boards. Ryan Lang had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. UMHB shot 49 percent from the field in the second half and hit 42 percent overall. The Cru was 14-35 from three-point range, but forced just four Ozarks turnovers in the contest.

Josh Berard scored a game-high 36 points to top the Eagles and Jace Richardson chipped in 19 points. That duo also combined for 17 assists. Pete Barber scored 21 points and Dylan Gray added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ozarks shot 62 percent from the field in the second half and 52 percent from the floor overall. The Eagles finished the game with a 47-44 rebounding edge.

The Cru will return home for a return to ASC play on Saturday. UMHB will host Belhaven University for a 7:30 PM tip off at the Mayborn Campus Center. The start time for that game has been pushed back to help avoid a conflict with the Cru's home NCAA Quarterfinal football game.