ALPINE, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team roared back from a 16-point deficit in the final ten minutes and stunned Sul Ross State on its home floor in a 77-72 Cru victory Saturday in Alpine. UMHB improves to 15-10 overall and 7-9 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory. The Lobos lost in Alpine for the first time this season to fall to 16-9 overall and 13-3 in the ASC on the year.
Sul Ross had a 57-41 lead with 10:06 remaining and was still up 63-50 with 7:23 left to play. The Cru put together a 16-2 run and took a 66-65 lead on
Joseph Mitchell's three-pointer with 1:57 to go. Tristen Licon's three-pointer gave the lead back to the Lobos, but Mitchell tied it with a layup and
Aedan Welch added a three-pointer for a 71-68 UMHB lead. The two teams traded layups before the Cru forced a Sul Ross turnover. Mitchell added two free-throws to put the Cru up 75-70 with 15 seconds to go. The Lobos hit a basket, but
Logan Hicks iced the game with two clutch free-throws for UMHB. There were 14 lead changes and six ties in a game that saw the teams tied at 32-32 at halftime. Sul Ross opened the second half with a 15-4 run to push the lead into double figures and set up the Cru's late rally.
Sam Moore had 19 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists to lead UMHB. Welch added 15 key points and Hicks and
Pat Everett scored 10 points apiece. The Cru shot 44 percent from the field as a team and went 15-20 from the stripe. UMHB also out rebounded the Lobos 48-43. The win also gave UMHB Head Coach
Ken DeWeese his 400th victory at the school.
Licon had 22 points to top Sul Ross. Aaron Anderson was the only other player in double figures with 10 points and Cailen Bond pulled down nine rebounds for the Lobos. Sul Ross shot just 36 percent from the floor as a team and went 10-40 from beyond the arc.
The Cru will now return to Alpine next week for the ASC Championship Tournament. UMHB is the #3 seed from the West Division and will take on East Division #2 seed LeTourneau in the 5 pm Quarterfinal Game on Thursday.
