BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team defeated LeTourneau University 75-66 Thursday night in its 2023-24 home opener in Belton. The Cru improved to 3-4 on the season and 1-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the YellowJackets fell to 4-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
 
LeTourneau opened the contest with a three-pointer, but Josiah Johnson answered with another basket from behind the arc on the next possession. UMHB expanded their lead to four with two baskets in the paint from Zachary Engels and Johnson. The Cru held the high ground through the first six minutes of play until the YellowJackets used a five-point run to go ahead 12-11 at the 13:56 mark.
 
The next two minutes saw three lead changes before UMHB could bring their lead back to three with a fast break basket from LD Butler. The Cru extended the lead to four but the YellowJackets answered with a seven-point run to go up 28-25 with four minutes remaining. The Cru tied it back up on the next play and the contest stayed within a four-point range, going into the break with the Cru leading 34-32. Johnson led the Cru through first-half play with 17 points.
 
UMHB had an explosive start to the second half, scoring 10 unanswered points. The YellowJackets got on the board with a jumper at 17:04, sparking a 7-2 run to close the gap to seven with 15 minutes remaining.
 
 The YellowJackets brought the contest back within three points after a six-point run to cut the deficit once again. LETU continued pressing, cutting the gap to one, but Kyle Wright tacked on five unanswered points to extend the lead to six with less than nine minutes to go. The contest progressed basket-for-basket in the final minutes with UMHB holding on for the 75-66 victory.
 
Johnson led the Cru with 37 points, including 15 from the foul line. UMHB recorded 42 rebounds, led by Johnson, Wright and Jayce Todd with six boards each. The Cru caused the YellowJackets 17 turnovers with 10 steals, led by Wright with three.

UMHB returns to action on Saturday, December 9th in a 3 p.m. match against East Texas Baptist University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.