BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team closed out the calendar year with a thrilling one-point win over No. 9 Illinois Wesleyan Monday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 11-3 on the season while the Titans fell to 10-2.  
 
UMHB opened the game scoring on its first four possessions, forcing the Titans to call a timeout just two minutes into the game with a 9-2 Cru lead. The Titans added a basket nine seconds later but neither team scored again until a pair of B.J. Anderson foul shots at 15:58. Mason Funk hit a three-pointer for IWU at the 15:15 mark to cut the game to one possession and the Titans continued to answer, tying the contest at 13 with 12:30 to play in the half.
 
Josh Friedman gave Illinois Wesleyan its first lead of the game at the 10:37 mark off a three-pointer. A jumper from Josh Goings and three-pointer from Co Rose sent the lead back into Crusader territory with just under 10 to play. Eli Beard extended the gap with a trio of three-pointers, putting UMHB up by eight with 5:40 to play. UMHB held that margin but the Titans fought back, cutting the gap to one and tying the contest at 36 with 22 seconds remaining in the first. Josh Goings responded with a jumper at the 00:04 mark to give the Cru a two-point lead going into halftime.
 
UMHB shot 45.2 percent in the first half, led by Eli Beard with 14 points and Josh Goings with eight.
 
The Cru stayed on top until the 17:45 mark when a pair of Titan free throws evened the contest at 40. Mason Funk gave the Titans a lead with back-to-back three-pointers at 16:36 and 15:55 before Zach Engels hit two consecutive jumpers to even the contest at 46. Illinois Wesleyan responded with seven unanswered points before Engels hit another jumper to end that drought. Jerry Day, Jr. and Josh Goings followed with back-to-back jumpers before a Goings free throw evened the contest at 53.
 
The game toggled back-and-forth from there. A goal tending call at 6:20 gave Eli Beard a jumper and ensuing free throw to knot the contest back at 60 and put momentum back in favor of the Cru. Zachary Engels hit a jumper with an ensuing foul shot at the 4:49 mark, adding another jumper at 4:11 and a three-pointer at 3:34.
 
The Titans evened the contest again at 70 and took a two-point lead before an Eli Beard three-pointer at 1:51 to put the Cru back on top. Connor Zamiara gave UMHB a three-point margin with 1:00 to play but the Titans answered with a free throw and jumper off the next rebound for a 75-75 tie. Engels hit another jumper at 00:32 before a jumper from the Titans at 00:11 tied the game again at 77.
 
A missed IWU free throw held the tie before Day secured the rebound and Zach Engels hit the game-winning free throw with three seconds left to play.
 
Beard led the Cru with 22 points while Engels added 19 and Goings tallied 13. UMHB shot 43.3 percent in the contest with Beard draining five three-pointers in the win. Day and Ryan Pondant led the Cru with seven boards each while Goings had team-highs in assists (four) and steals (four).
 
UMHB returns to action on Thursday, January 16^th in a 7:30 p.m. contest against the University of Texas at Dallas in Richardson.