BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team fought back late in the second half to force overtime and outscore the War Hawks 22-14 in the extra period for a 110-102 win. The win improved the Cru to 14-9 on the season and 9-6 in American Southwest Conference action while the War Hawks fell to 9-15 overall and 3-11 in league play.  
 
McMurry scored first on a layup from TJ Hilliard at the 18:59 mark in the first half. The War Hawks added a three-pointer at 17:46 before Josiah Johnson made a pair of foul shots to get the Cru on the board. McMurry extended the lead to eight points with a three-pointer from CJ LeBlanc at 16:38 and led by as many as 11 before the first media timeout.
 
UMHB responded with seven unanswered points to cut the gap to four. Both teams exchanged three-pointers then field goals to keep the game at a four-point deficit. Josh Alcocer hit a three-pointer for McMurry at 12:48 to extend the gap to two possessions. UMHB responded with a free throw from Zach Engels and a layup from Payton Brooks but the War Hawks answered again for another six-point lead.
 
The War Hawks held a two-possession margin until the 8:11 mark when Engels hit a three-pointer to cut the line to two points. McMurry answered with back-to-back field goals for a seven-point lead but the Cru mirrored with baskets from Josh Goings and Johnson to cut the lead to two again. McMurry took the lead back to seven but the Cru responded with a 7-0 run to knot the contest at 38. Engels put the Cru back on top with a jumper but the War Hawks quickly answered for another tied score. The game saw four lead changes from there with a 49-49 knot going into halftime.
 
Johnson led the Cru with 13 first-half points while Eli Beard added 12 and Zachary Engels had 10. Engels also led the Cru with five first-half rebounds and assists.
 
Eli Beard opened the second half with a jumper for the Cru before the War Hawks tied it at 51. Jerry Day, Jr. hit a three-pointer at the 17:52 mark to jumpstart a seven-point run for UMHB but the War Hawks answered quickly, pulling the game back within two with 15:42 to play. Johnson hit a three-pointer at 14:22 to put the Cru ahead by five but the game continued basket-for-basket with the War Hawks regaining the lead at 11:31.
 
McMurry held the margin until the 6:55 mark when the Cru tied the contest on a layup from Beard. The War Hawks responded with back-to-back three-pointers to take a six-point lead but the Cru answered again, tying the contest at 80-80 with 4:38 to play. McMurry went ahead again, leading by as many as six points but the Cru fought back with layups from both Johnson and Beard to cut the gap to 88-86 with 30 seconds to play.
 
The War Hawks missed their one-and-one chance at the 22 second mark, giving UMHB the ball. Zach Engels capitalized on a missed three-pointer, scoring the putback for the 88-88 equalizer and sending the contest into overtime.
 
Johnson opened the overtime period with back-to-back first-minute three-pointers to give the Cru a 94-88. CJ LeBlanc made a jumper at 3:48 to cut the gap to four but Johnson responded with a pair of free throws to give UMHB another six-point lead. McMurry again cut the lead to two but Johnson responded with a driving layup for another four-point margin.
 
UMHB hit the century mark with a jumper from Ryan Pondant, which he followed with a pair of foul shots for a 102-94 lead. UMHB held on to that margin, earning the 110-102 win over McMurry. Johnson scored 16 points in the five-minute overtime period and assisted four more. UMHB shot 71.4 percent in the overtime period, going 5-for-7 in field goals, 2-for-3 in three-pointers and making all 10 free throws.
 
Johnson led the Cru with 41 points while Eli Beard added 28. Zach Engels and Ryan Pondant also finished in double-digits with 12 points and 10 points, respectively. UMHB shot 42.5 percent in the contest, making nine three-pointers. Johnson was also the Cru's leading rebounder with 11, followed by Beard with eight. Johnson also led the Cru with five assists while Josh Goings added five steals.
 
The contest saw seven lead changes with nine tied scores. UMHB led for 14:19 of the contest, scoring 46 points in the paint and 29 points off the bench. The Cru added 22 second-chance points and 18 points off turnovers. UMHB outrebounded the War Hawks 55-50, forcing 17 turnovers.
 
UMHB returns to action on Saturday, February 17^th in a 3 p.m. contest against Hardin-Simmons University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton. The Cru will also celebrate senior day as they close out the regular season against the Cowboys.