SPOKANE, Wash – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team used a 14-1 run in the first half to pull away from the Linfield Wildcats, earning a 78-61 win Tuesday evening in Spokane. The win improved the Cru to 6-3 on the season while the Wildcats fell to 4-6.
 
Linfield hit a trio of three-pointers to open the game with a 9-2 lead. The Wildcats led by as many as seven points in the first five minutes of action. Linfield held on to the lead until the 10:16 mark when Zachary Engels hit at three-points to put the Cru up by two points. UMHB went on a 14-1 run from there, led by Josiah Johnson with nine points. Braedyn Dawes and Nathan Stolz hit back-to-back three-points to put the Cru up by 21 points with 3:45 left in the first half. UMHB allowed just eight points in the final minutes, going into halftime up 48-30.
 
UMHB shot 55.6 percent in the first half with nine three-pointers. The Cru out-rebounded Linfield 14-9 and held advantage for 10:16 of the half.
 
UMHB held on to a double-digit lead in the second half, sealing the 78-61 win. Josiah Johnson led the Cru with 23 points while Ty Prince, Luke Feely and Braedyn Dawes each added 10. UMHB shot 43.6 percent in the contest and 37 percent from beyond the arc. Zachary Engels was the leading rebounded with six boards while Prince added a team-high five assists. Johnson was also the team leader in steals (three) and blocks (two).
 
The Cru returns to action on Wednesday, December 21^st in a 6 p.m. (PST) match against Whitworth University in Spokane.