Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team used hot shooting and a big rebounding advantage to knock off Sul Ross State 73-62 in a key American Southwest Conference West Division game Thursday night in Belton. The victory moves UMHB to within a half game of the Lobos and Howard Payne University for the final West Division berth in the ASC Tournament.
The first half was a see-saw affair through the early going with three ties and three lead changes before the Cru started to take control. UMHB built a 35-25 lead with 3:17 left in the period and held a 37-31 edge at halftime. The Cru stretched that lead out to 17 points at 50-33 with 16:17 left to play before the Lobos clawed back into the game. Sul Ross closed to seven at 53-46 with 11:11 remaining, but UMHB scored six straight points with Aubrie King hitting a jumper and Daniel Mills adding back-to-back buckets to take it back in double figures. Sul Ross trailed 66-55 with 3:45 left in the game and had the ball with a chance to slice the Cru lead into single digits, but King grabbed a defensive rebound and buried a three-pointer at the other end and the Lobos would not get closer than the final margin the rest of the way.
Mills poured in 32 points to lead UMHB and match his career high. He had 22 of those points in the first half and added eight rebounds and four assists. Braden Hammond had 17 points and five assists and King scored eight points to go with a career-high 11 rebounds. The Cru shot 63 percent from the field as a team in the second half and finished at 49 percent for the game. UMHB also out rebounded the Lobos 40-26.
Caleb Thomasson topped Sul Ross State with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Xavier Webb added 13 points and C.J. Ross chipped in 12 more off the bench. The Lobos shot just 37 percent from the field in the contest and went 7-22 from beyond the arc.
The UMHB men are now 14-8 overall and 7-6 in ASC play on the season following the win. The loss drops the Lobos to 12-11 overall and 8-6 in the ASC on the year. The Cru will play one more home game to close out its five game home stand. The UMHB men will host Howard Payne University for a 3:00 PM start on Saturday in the regular season home finale. The Cru finishes the regular season with games at McMurry University and Hardin-Simmons University next week in Abilene.