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Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team saw a double-digit halftime lead disappear in a barrage of free-throws and three-pointers in the second half as Sul Ross State stormed back for an 85-75 victory over the Cru Saturday in Belton. UMHB falls to 6-11 overall and 3-5 in American Southwest Conference play with the loss. The Lobos improve to 10-8 overall and 6-3 in the ASC and take over sole possession of first place in the ASC West Division with the victory.
UMHB took advantage of a Sul Ross cold spell in the first half to take as much as a 15-point lead. The Cru trailed 21-17 with 9:48 left in the half but went on a 19-0 run as the Lobos went scoreless for 8:14 and Jalen Jury's three-pointer at the buzzer made it 39-25 UMHB at the half. The Cru still held a double-digit lead at 47-37 with 13:51 remaining in the game before Sul Ross responded. The Lobos took their first lead of the second half at 59-56 on Jacob Caloss' three-pointer with 7:43 left to play. UMHB fought back to tie the game at 61, but a 16-2 Sul Ross run made it a 77-63 Lobo lead with 3:05 to go. The Cru would not get closer than eight points the rest of the way as Sul Ross held on for the victory.
Demarius Cress led UMHB with 23 points on 6-12 shooting from the field and he added five assists. Sidney Deloach was the only other player in double figures with 10 points. The Cru shot 40 percent from the field in the game but hit just 30 percent in the second half. UMHB was 8-23 from three-point range and finished 17-24 from the free-throw line.
Alex Harrison led a balanced Sul Ross effort with 24 points and he also pulled down 11 rebounds. Caleb Thomasson added 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Brock Anders scored 20 points and Rocky Feliciano scored 13 off the bench. The Lobos went 18-25 from the free-throw line in the second half after not shooting a single free-throw in the first half. Sul Ross was also 8-10 from three-point range in the second half and finished 9-18 from beyond the arc in the game. The Lobos shot 48 percent overall and out rebounded UMHB 45-32 in the game.
The game closes out a four-game home stand for the UMHB men. The Cru will travel to Abilene for a pair of games next week. UMHB will face Hardin-Simmons in a 7:30 PM start on Thursday before closing out the week with a 3:00 PM tip-off at McMurry University.
