BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team ran away with a 78-53 win over University of St. Thomas (Houston) Tuesday evening in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 5-1 overall while the Celts fell to 5-1.  
 
The first half played scoreless for 90 seconds until the Celts hit a free throw to go ahead by one. Another minute went by before Ryan Pondant put the Cru on top with a jumper. The game played back-and-forth with an 8-7 Celts lead at the first media timeout.
 
UMHB came out of that with 10 unanswered points on St. Thomas. Eli Beard hit a three-pointer before Keegan Pugh added a jumper. Maurice Pinnock followed with a three-pointer and a jumper to put UMHB up 17-8. The Celts ended their drought with a jumper at 11:55 but Beard answered with another three-pointer for a double-digit margin. UMHB held onto the lead but the Celts chipped away, pulling within two with 6:27 to play in the half. The Cru pulled away again, sparked by another three-pointer from Pinnock and cruised to a 36-38 lead at halftime.
 
Pinnock led the Cru with 15 first-half points while Beard added 10. UMHB shot 55.6 percent in the half with five three-pointers.
 
UMHB held the high ground and took a double-digit lead with 11:21 to play in the contest. The Celts cut the gap back to seven but UMHB responded again, going back up by 11 and holding that lead through the frame. The contest saw just five early lead changes with one tied score. The Cru totaled 32 points in the paint with 11 points off turnovers and 40 points off the bench.
 
Maurice Pinnock had a banner night for the Cru, totaling 32 points with 11 field goals and seven three-pointers, a perfect percentage beyond the arc. Eli Beard added 15 points for the Cru while Josh Goings put up 12. B.J. Anderson led the Cru with six boards while Zachary Engels had a team-high four assists.
 
UMHB returns to action on Thursday, December 5^th in a 7:30 p.m. contest against Concordia University Texas at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.