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Belton, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team came up big in the final minute with the season on the line as the Cru posted an 80-79 victory over Hardin-Simmons University Saturday afternoon in Belton. UMHB clinches a berth in the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament with the win and closes out the regular season at 10-15 overall and 5-9 in ASC play. The loss drops the Cowboys to 15-10 overall and 8-6 in the ASC on the year.
 
Hardin-Simmons built an eight-point lead early in the second half at 53-45 before UMHB fought back. The Cru used a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 54-53 with 14:01 left to play. The two teams then traded the lead down the stretch with neither team able to muster more than a four point advantage. Demarius Cress hit two free-throws with 2:07 remaining to give UMHB a 76-75 lead. Cress added a lay-up 21 seconds later to put the Cru up 78-75. Christian O'Neal hit two freebies to cut it to 78-77 with 1:17 to go. UMHB then drained the clock on the next possession before Braden Hammond grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a lay-up to give UMHB an 80-77 edge with 46.6 seconds on the clock. Dashun Dixon's runner in the lane closed the gap to 80-79 with 36 seconds to play. The Cru once again drained the shot clock on the next possession and Dixon pulled down a rebound for the Cowboys, but UMHB's defensive pressure forced Caleb Spoon to be off the mark with a three-pointer at the buzzer, sending UMHB back to the postseason. The Cru had scored the first seven points of the game before HSU battled back for a 41-38 halftime lead. The game featured 10 ties and 16 lead changes in a see-saw affair.
 
Hammond led UMHB with 24 points as he established a new career-high for the third time in the last four games. Cress added 18 points off the bench and Russell Green had 17 points before fouling out late in the game. Austen Stolte pulled down a team-best eight rebounds in just 11 minutes of action. The Cru shot 42 percent from the field as a team and hit 15-19 from the free-throw line. UMHB also out rebounded the Cowboys 44-38 and went 9-23 from three-point range.
Dixon topped the Cowboys with 24 points and Spoon added 23 on 7-14 shooting from three-point range. Justin Jones and Nathaniel Jack had ten points apiece and Jack grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. HSU also shot 42 percent from the field and went 14-38 from beyond the arc in the loss.
 
UMHB will advance to the ASC Championship Tournament as the #4 seed from the West Division. The Cru will take on East Division #1 seed and defending conference champion East Texas Baptist in a 2:30 PM first round game on Thursday. The ASC Championship Tournament will be played on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine.  
 
This was also the final home game for six Cru seniors. Davonte Black, Sidney Deloach, Russell Green, Oliver Houston, Jalen Jury and Layton Zinsmeister all played their final games at the Mayborn Campus Center.