BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team put together a 14-0 run midway through the second half and then held off a Trinity University rally as the Cru held on for a 72-70 win over the Tigers Saturday evening in Belton. UMHB improves to 5-1 on the year with the victory. The loss drops Trinity to 1-4 on the season.
 
Trinity led most of a first half that featured three lead changes and four ties. The Tigers had a 39-37 advantage at halftime and opened up a 57-51 lead with 10:50 remaining. UMHB scored the next 14 points to seemingly take control. Sam Moore's three-pointer put the Cru up 59-57 and the lead would grow to 65-57. Casey Armour's jumper put UMHB on top 69-61 with 4:05 left to play, but the Tigers responded with a 9-0 run and took a 70-69 lead on Carter Laramore's jumper with 1:52 on the clock. Salomon Smith hit two free-throws to give the Cru a 71-70 lead with 1:35 to play and he added one more free throw with 58 seconds to play to take it out to 72-70. Trinity turned the ball over on its next possession, but UMHB missed a pair of free throws. The Tigers had a last gasp shot at a game-winning three but were off the mark at the final buzzer.
 
Armour led four players in double figures for the Cru with 18 points and he added a game-high 15 rebounds. Devyn Brewton had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Sam Moore and Logan Hicks added 10 points apiece. UMHB shot 40 percent from the field for the game and went 5-21 from three-point range. The Cru also out rebounded the Tigers 51-41 on the night.
 
Laramore led Trinity with 19 points on 7-12 shooting. David Nickell scored 12 points and A.J. Clark chipped in 11. The Tigers hit 37 percent from the field and were 8-27 from beyond the arc. The game was stopped for more than 20 minutes after Trinity's Stephen Molina was injured late in the first half.
 
The UMHB men will return to action with a non-conference road game on Wednesday. The Cru will travel to Seguin to take on Texas Lutheran in a 6 pm start.