SAN MARCOS, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team battled back from an early deficit to make it a game in the first half, but the Cru comeback fell short in a 98-59 loss to Texas State Wednesday night in the season opener for both teams. The Division I Bobcats are now 1-0 to start the season. The game was an exhibition contest for UMHB and does not count in the Cru's win/loss record.
 
Texas State scored the game's first six points and opened with an 18-6 run. The Cru stormed back and closed to within four points at 25-21 with 4:46 remaining in the opening half before hitting a cold spell to end the period. The Bobcats closed the half with a 19-2 run to build a 44-23 lead at the break. UMHB was held to 29 percent shooting in the first half while Texas State hit 53 percent as a team. The Cru forced eight turnovers in the opening half while committing ten turnovers.
 
The Bobcats started the second half with a 14-2 spurt to stretch the lead to 33 points and relied on their experience and practice time advantage to keep UMHB at bay from there. The Cru could not get closer than 30 points the rest of the way as Texas State shot 54 percent from the floor as a team in the final 20 minutes of the contest.
 
Carson Hammond led UMHB with 18 points and eight rebounds on the night. Josiah Johnson added 17 points on 7-13 shooting and pulled down five boards. Eleven different players scored in the game for the Cru. UMHB shot 36 percent from the field as a team and went 10-14 from the free-throw line. The Cru had 24 points in the paint and scored 17 points off 14 Texas State turnovers.
 
Isiah Small led the Bobcats with 17 points and eight rebounds. Mason Harrell added 15 points and five assists and ten players finished with seven or more points in a balanced scoring effort. Texas State shot 54 percent from the field as a team and out rebounded UMHB 47-31, including 14 offensive boards.
 
The game was the first for the Cru under new head coach Clif Carroll and 13 players also made their UMHB debuts on the night. The Cru will return to action with a pair of non-conference games against American Southwest Conference opponents this weekend. The UMHB men will take on Hardin-Simmons in a 6 pm start on Friday before facing McMurry University in a 3 pm tip on Saturday. Both of those games will count the Cru's season record.