ABILENE, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team opened the second half with an 8-0 run and never looked back as the Cru posted a 94-84 victory over McMurry University Saturday afternoon in Abilene. UMHB is now 2-0 to start the season. The loss drops the War Hawks to 0-2 on the year.
 
Aedan Welch opened the second half scoring with a lay-up to give the Cru a 42-41 lead and three-pointers from Josiah Johnson and Carson Hammond stretched that lead to 48-41. McMurry would get as close as 50-48, but UMHB had an answer for every War Hawk run. The lead reached double figures for the first time at 80-70 and the Cru would go on to ice the game from the free-throw line to complete a two-game sweep in Abilene over the weekend. UMHB shot 70 percent from the field as a team in the second half.
 
The first half was a back-and-forth affair as the two teams traded the lead early. UMHB would put together a 9-0 run to grab a 25-17 lead with 10:34 to go in the half. The Cru would again lead by eight at 28-20 before McMurry started to chip away. UMHB held onto the lead until Remy Minor's layup and free-throw with just a second and a half left would give the War Hawks a 41-40 halftime lead. Khalil Butler had 23 of McMurry's 41 points in the opening half as he hit five three-pointers. Kobe Ollison had a team-best nine points to lead a balanced UMHB attack in the first half.
 
Johnson led the Cru with 26 points on 8-13 shooting. Hammond added 21 points on 8-11 shooting and Welch posted his second straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Ollison finished with 13 points and Kyle Wright chipped in with 12 on the afternoon. UMHB shot a blistering 55 percent from the field as a team and hit 13-27 from beyond the arc. The Cru also out rebounded the War Hawks 43-30 in the contest.
 
 
Butler led all scorers with 25 points for McMurry and he hit 5-9 from three-point range. Minor added 22 points and two other War Hawks had ten points apiece. McMurry shot 45 percent from the floor as a team and went 10-35 from beyond the arc in the game.
The Cru will now have a week off before returning to action with a pair of games in Richardson. The UMHB men will take on Sul Ross State on December 8^th before facing UT Dallas on December 10^th in non-conference action.