SEGUIN, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team dropped a close decision to Texas Lutheran University 78-77 Wednesday night in Seguin. The Cru fell to 2-1 on the season while the Bulldogs improved to 1-2 overall.
Texas Lutheran went up 4-0 before the Cru scored eight unanswered points to take the lead at the 15:40 mark. Texas Lutheran used a five-point run to close the gap 10-10 before extending their lead to four with eight minutes remaining in the first frame.
The first half saw six more lead changes before the Bulldogs gained a lead of three at the 1:19 mark. A Ryan Pondant layup cut the lead to one to go into the break trailing 34-33. Josiah Johnson led the Cru through the first half with 10 points and five rebounds.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a free throw and a three-pointer in the first minute to go ahead 38-33. Johnson answered with a jumper before TLU added ten more scores, taking a 48-37 lead.
The contest played even until UMHB used a 10-4 run to cut the gap to six at the 9:21 mark. Two foul shots and a layup from Kyle Wright brought the Cru within one point with less than seven minutes remaining.
Johnson took the lead for the Cru 65-64 at the 5:40 mark, but the Bulldogs answered with a four-point run to go back ahead a minute later. Johnson tied it back up with a shot behind the arc before a foul shot brought TLU back up by one.
An Eli Beard layup put UMHB ahead 72-71 at the 1:44 mark. Kyle Wright added two more scores from the foul line before TLU put up a three-pointer to knot it up 74-74 with a minute remaining. The match when back-and-forth on free-throw points, but the Bulldogs secured the 78-77 victory with a final foul shot with four seconds remaining.
Johnson led the Cru with 22 points and seven rebounds. Eli Beard and Payton Brooks also hit double-digits with 15 and 12 points, respectively. UMHB recorded 11 steals on the night and caused the Bulldogs 15 turnovers.
UMHB returns to action Friday, November 24th at 3:00 p.m. in a contest against University of St. Thomas in Houston.
