BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team earned a come-from-behind win at Hardin-Simmons University Saturday in Abilene, taking a 95-90-win over the Cowboys and securing the American Southwest Conference regular-season title.
 
Hardin-Simmons jumped to a 5-0 advantage in the first half and led until the 14:08 mark when Kyle Wright hit a jumper to even the contest at 8-8. Ty Prince followed that with a three-pointer to put the Cru on top before Josiah Johnson ensued with a jumper for a five-point lead. UMHB held advantage until 9:01 when Will Bartoszek hit a three-pointer to give the Cowboys a two-point advantage. The game saw six ties from there until UMHB pulled away with a 5-0 run. Hardin-Simmons fought back, taking the advantage with 2:22 left in the half. UMHB took another brief lead before the Cowboys hit a jumper at 1:44 and held advantage, going into halftime up 46-45.
 
UMHB quickly tied the contest at the opening of the second half off a pair of foul shots from Ty Prince. The game played back-and-forth from there before Jamison Bosch hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Cowboys up by seven. Hardin-Simmons held a lead until 8:18 when Prince hit a free throw to give the advantage back to UMHB. The Cru held on to the lead for the duration of the second half to earn the 95-90 win.
 
Prince led the Cru with 27 points, followed by Josiah Johnson with 19. Luke Feely and Kyle Wright also recorded double-digit performances with 19 points and 13 points, respectively. UMHB shot 54 percent in the contest with 34 field goals and 44 points in the paint. Feely was the rebounder with nine, followed by Ty Prince with seven. Josiah Johnson led the Crusader defense with six steals, followed by Wright with five. D.J. Kane was the UMHB's assist leader with four in the contest.
 
UMHB ends the regular season at 21-4 with a 16-2 mark in American Southwest Conference action while Hardin-Simmons falls to 17-8 overall and 12-6 in league play. The win also propelled the Cru to first in the ASC standings, winning them their second consecutive regular-season title and right to host the 2023 American Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament. Tournament play will open Tuesday at quarterfinal sites before moving to Belton February 24^th – 25^th for the semifinal and final rounds.