BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team used strong scoring performance late in the second half to put away Concordia University Texas Thursday in Belton, earning an 84-62 win over the Tornados. The win improved the Cru to 6-1 on the season while CTX moved to 2-3.
The first half opened with back-to-back action until 16:00 when a Ryan Pondant layup sparked an 8-0 run for the Cru. UMHB held a two-possession lead until a dunk by B.J. Anderson and a layup from Josh Goings propelled the Cru to a 12-point lead. The game stayed at a double-digit deficit with the Cru leading by as many as 15. The Tornados closed out the first half with five unanswered points in the final minute, cutting the gap back to seven with a 35-28 halftime score.
The Cru reclaimed the double-digit advantage early in the second half and extended the lead to 21 with 12:51 to play. Concordia immediately started chipping away at that lead, cutting the gap to 12 with 10:18 to play and dwindling it all the way down to six at the 8:24 mark. Maurice Pinnock ended the Cru's drought with a layup but a three-pointer from the Tornados cut the gap down to five.
A couple of foul shots from B.J. Anderson put the Cru back up by seven followed by a three-pointer from Zach Engels for a 10-point lead. Ryan Pondant hit a layup at 5:48 followed by another dunk and a pair of free throws from Anderson for a 16-point margin. Pondant hit another foul shot before the Cru's 72 points were finally answered with 4:09 to play. UMHB continued to press, going up by 21 off a layup from Josh Goings at the 2:14 mark. The Cru held that line through duration for the 84-62 win, ending the game on a 24-7 run.
B.J. Anderson led the Cru with 17 points in the contest while Eli Beard added 16. Josh Goings (12), Ryan Pendant (11) and Maurice Pinnock (10) all added double-digit scoring performances. Pondant and Pinnock both lead the Cru with seven rebounds each while Engels had a team-high six assists. UMHB shot 52.4 percent in the contest, totaling 22 points off the bench with 44 points in the paint and 26 fast break points.
UMHB returns to action on Sunday, December 8th in a 2 p.m. contest at McMurry University in Abilene.
