AUSTIN, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team fell to Concordia University Texas 88-82 Saturday afternoon in Austin. The Cru fell to 2-4 on the season and 0-1 in in American Southwest Conference action while the Tornados improved to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in ASC play.

UMHB opened play with a 13-2 run, led by Zachary Engels with six points. The Tornados responded with 11 unanswered points to tie the game 13-13 at the 13:47 mark. Ryan Pondant recorded a layup to spark a 12-point run for the Cru to go ahead 25-13. The Cru brought their lead to 15 before Concordia cut the gap to 10 with a 7-2 run.

UMHB continued to capitalize on foul shots, going on an 8-4 run to go back ahead 43-30 with 4:20 remaining. The Tornados fought back in the final minutes, scoring eight more to close the half down 44-38.

The second half opened basket-for-basket before the Tornados went on a seven-point run to tie the game 49-49. Maurice Pinnock added three foul shots to put the Cru back on top, but Concordia responded with another seven unanswered points to take the high ground 56-52 with 14:35 remaining.

The contest played within three points until Zach Engels and Kyle Wright broke the pattern, scoring a duo of baskets to give the Cru a 65-64 lead. The next three minutes of action saw three lead changes before the Tornados claimed the high ground for the final time with a duo of free throws. The Cru cut the gap to as close as one point in the final four minutes, but could not overcome the deficit, falling 88-82.

Pondant led the Cru with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Engels added 17 points for UMHB while Eli Beard tacked on 15. Josiah Johnson also had a strong presence under the basket for the Cru, recording nine boards to UMHB's 42 total.

UMHB returns to action on Thursday, December 7^th in a 7:30 p.m. contest against LeTourneau University in Belton.