BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team used a late basket to take down McMurry University 77-75 Saturday afternoon in Belton. The Cru improved to 12-4 overall and 7-2 in American Southwest Conference play, while the War Hawks fell to 4-11 on the season and 3-5 in league play.
 
UMHB opened played with an 8-3 run, but the War Hawks brought the game within one point at the 13:42 mark. McMurry knotted the game at 16-16 before the Cru used a seven-point run to reestablish an advantage. UMHB kept pushing, creating a lead as big as 11 with less than five minutes remaining. The War Hawks answered with a trio of three-pointers to cut the gap to two. The final two minutes played even and the Cru closed the half ahead by one.
 
UMHB scored the first basket of the half before the War Hawks tied it at 37 in the next possession. The contest continued in even play until McMurry pulled away with a seven-point run. The War Hawks led by as many as eight points before UMHB retook the lead with an 8-1 run at the 5:40 mark. The contest saw three lead changes before Kyle Wright scored the equalizer with 58 seconds on the clock. UMHB's defense held on the next possession and got the ball back with six seconds remaining. Ty Prince sealed the 75-73 win with a jumper at the 3.2 mark off an assist from Gibson Hearne. McMurry's last-second shot went wide, sealing the win for the Cru.
 
Josiah Johnson led the Cru with 24 points followed by Ty Prince with 20. Defensively, UMHB caused 23 turnovers for the War Hawks, led by Kyle Wright with five steals. Johnson also added three steals as he set a new program record for steals in a career. The Cru totaled 35 rebounds on the night led by Prince with nine.
 
UMHB continues the five-game home stand on Saturday, January 21st in a 3 p.m. contest against Concordia University Texas at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.