BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team earned its second consecutive win Saturday in a 79-69 win over East Texas Baptist University in Belton. The win evened the Cru at 4-4 on the year and improved them to 2-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the Tigers fell to 2-5 overall and 2-2 in league play.

UMHB opened the game with four unanswered points before the Tigers got on the board at the 17:22 mark. UMHB held on to the lead, going up by eight points with 11:34 left to play in the frame and taking a double-digit lead at 10:54 off a three-pointer from LD Beard. UMHB held the double-digit margin through the half, extending the lead to as many as 20 points and going into halftime up by 13.

Payton Brooks led the Cru with 16 points while Josiah Johnson and Zachary Engels each added seven. UMHB shot 63 percent in the first half, draining four shots beyond the arc and 17 field goals. Brooks shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the first half while Ryan Pondant also went 2-for-2 in both field goals and foul shots.

The Cru held a 10+ margin through the second half. ETBU cut the gap to ten points at the 10:47 mark and again at 9:58 but a three-pointer from Eli Beard extended the lead to 13. UMHB held the high ground for the duration of the frame, ending the contest with a 79-69 win.

UMHB shot 50 percent in the match, including a 46.7 percent showing from beyond the arc. Josiah Johnson led the Cru with 20 points while Payton Brooks added 19 and Ryan Pondant put up 10. Johnson also led the Cru with 11 boards, four assists and three steals in the matchup.

UMHB returns to action on Thursday, December 14^th in a 7:30 p.m. contest at Howard Payne University in Brownwood.