BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team closed out the home slate with a 21-12 win over East Texas Baptist University Saturday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 5-4 overall and 4-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the Tigers fell to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in league play.
 
East Texas Baptist drove 30 yards on its opening possession, capping the eight-play drive with a three-yard rush from Carldell Beard for a 7-0 lead. The Tigers added another score with a 46-yard field goal at the close of the quarter to go ahead by 10 after the first frame. UMHB's defense limited the Tigers to just 32 offensive yards in the first quarter with one drive for zero yards and one drive in the negative.
 
UMHB found the end zone with 6:28 left in the second quarter on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Phe to Jerry Day, Jr. UMHB drove 60 yards on the drive for the score. ETBU changed momentum on the point-after attempt with a block and 85-yard return for two more points and a 12-6 lead.
 
Dorian Williams thwarted the Tigers' next drive, intercepting a pass at the ETBU 41-yard line and returning it 31 yards to give the Cru a fresh set of downs in the red zone. Ozias Wright rushed on three plays for a combined eight yards and the score to even the contest at 12.
 
ETBU opened the second half with a 31-yard drive, putting them at fourth-and-one on the UMHB 44-yardline. The Tigers ran a fake but Trystin Brown made the stop a yard short to stop the drive. The Cru offense followed that with a 13-play series, capped by a six-yard rush from Kenneth Cormier, Jr. for an 18-12 lead.
 
The Tigers drove 18 yards on the next outing but Durand Hill intercepted a pass at the 37-yard line for another takeaway. UMHB put one more score on the board off a 19-yard field goal from Andrew Cunningham, securing the 21-12 home win.
 
Isaac Phe threw eight completions for 73 yards and a touchdown. Kenneth Cormier, Jr. rushed for 91 yards on 22 carries with one score while Ozias Wright added 81 yards and a touchdown. Jerry Day, Jr. led the receiving corps with four catches for 34 yards as UMHB's offense totaled 267 yards in the matchup.
 
The Cru's defense was stifling, allowing the Tigers just 158 total yards with a complete second-half shutout. Hill led the Cru with nine tackles and one interception. Trey Belyeu-Wither added eight tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble while Myles Terry added eight tackles and 2.5 sacks. UMHB totaled eight sacks for 33 yards with one forced fumble, two interceptions and three pass breakups.
 
The Cru returns to action on Saturday, November 11^th in a 1 p.m. contest at Howard Payne University in Brownwood.