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BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team stormed back for a halftime lead but could not overcome a hot-shooting second half from St. Thomas as the Cru fell to the Celts 87-77 in exhibition action Thursday in Belton. The game does not affect UMHB's record since it was an exhibition contest for the Cru. St. Thomas counted it as a game and moves to 5-0 on the season.
The Celts scored the first nine points of the game before the Cru came storming back.
Sam Moore's three-pointer gave UMHB its first lead at 18-17 eight minutes into the game. The lead see-sawed back-and-forth before the Cru closed the first half with a 20-6 run to lead 51-36 at halftime. St. Thomas opened the second half with a run of its own and clawed back into the lead at 55-54 with 12:56 remaining in the game. The two teams battled down the stretch before the Celts were able to create some breathing room in the final minutes and iced the game from the free-throw line.
Moore led UMHB with 22 points.
Logan Hicks came off the bench to add 19 points and
Casey Armour had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Cru. UMHB shot just 14 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 32 percent for the night.
Cameron Gims led St. Thomas with 27 points and 10 boards. Nathan Ghavidel scored 13 points and Nathan Thormaehlen chipped in 11. The Celts shot 46 percent from the field on the night and hit 16 three-pointers in 36 attempts.
The Cru will return to action with the American Southwest Conference West Division opener next Monday. UMHB will host Concordia Texas for a 7 pm start at the Mayborn Campus Center. That will be the Cru's final game before taking a week off for Christmas break.
