Box Score Box Score
Abilene, TX – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team stormed back from a double-digit halftime deficit, but the Cru comeback fell just short in the final seconds in a 65-62 loss to McMurry University Saturday afternoon in Abilene. The loss drops the Cru to 17-6 overall and 13-6 in American Southwest Conference play on the season. UMHB also falls out of first place in the ASC West Division with the first back-to-back losses of the season for the Cru. McMurry improves to 16-7 overall and takes over sole possession of first place in the ASC West with a 14-5 league record with the victory.
UMHB fell behind by seven early in the game before battling back to tie the game at 21 with 6:48 left in the half. McMurry then closed the first half with a 15-2 run to take a 36-23 halftime lead. UMHB would still trail by nine points with 7:29 remaining in the game before the Cru started to chip away. UMHB cut it to one point on a couple of occasions and then pulled to within two points on
Robert Moore's three-point play with 1:09 left. The Cru would be called for a foul and a technical foul with just two seconds left on the shot clock on the ensuing McMurry possession. Derick Sumpter drained all four free-throws to make it a 65-59 game with 34 seconds to play.
Sterling Phillips buried a three-pointer with 19 seconds to go to cut the lead to 65-62 and the Cru forced a turnover on the next McMurry possession. UMHB would have a pair of shots to tie the game in the final seconds, but could not convert either one as time expired.
Steven Jones led McMurry with 16 points and seven rebounds. Sumpter added 15 points and six boards and Steven Johunkin also reached double figures with 11 points for McMurry.
UMHB shot just 27 per cent from the field in the first half and finished the game at 37 per cent. The Cru out rebounded McMurry 44-32, but McMurry made twice as many free throws as UMHB attempted in the contest. The Cru was 7-9 from the charity stripe while McMurry hit 18-22 from the line.
The Cru has already clinched a berth in the ASC Championship Tournament and the UMHB men will close out the regular season with a pair of games next week. UMHB will travel to Kerrville to take on Schreiner University in a 7:30 PM start on Thursday before closing out the week and the regular season with a 3:00 PM home game against Texas Lutheran University on Saturday at the Mayborn Campus Center.
