Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball trailed just twice in the early going and led by double figures most of the way as the Cru rolled to a 108-93 victory over Elmhurst College Thursday night in Belton. The win closed out the opening day of the Cru Classic and moved UMHB to 7-3 on the season. The loss drops the Blue Jays to 4-7 on the year.

Elmhurst scored first and the Blue Jays led 7-6 2:02 into the contest. UMHB exploded for a 13-2 run to grab a 19-9 lead for the first double-digit margin of the game with 13:28 to go in the first half. The Cru lead would grow to as many as 23 points before UMHB took a 58-45 lead into halftime. The Cru scored the first seven points of the second half to stretch the lead back to 20 points. Elmhurst fought back to get to within eight points on three occasions in the late going, but UMHB answered each time to cruise to the victory.

Braden Hammond led the Cru with 32 points and he hit 6-9 from three-point range. Aubrie King added 29 on 6-10 shooting from long-range. Demarius Cress chipped in with 19 points and Daniel Mills had 12 more off the bench. King grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and Hammond pulled down eight boards. UMHB went 15-30 from beyond the arc and shot 57 percent from the field as a team. The Cru also hit 27-40 from the free-throw line and turned the ball over just eight times.

Jake Rhode carried the Elmhurst offense with 38 points and he added six assists. Rhode was 7-13 from three-point land. Jalen Loving added 21 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. Nathan Rogers added 10 rebounds as the Blue Jays out rebounded UMHB 47-36 and pulled down 22 offensive boards. Elmhurst shot 39 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc in the loss.

The Cru Classic wraps up on Friday. Elmhurst will face Sul Ross State at 3:00 PM to open the day. The Cru will then host Rust College in a 5:00 PM start to close out the tournament. Sul Ross edged Rust 74-71 in Thursday's first game.