BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team used strong three-point shooting to grab a double-digit lead on the Hardin-Simmons University Cowboys, earning a 110-91 win over HSU Saturday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 15-9 on the season and 10-6 in American Southwest Conference action while the Cowboys fell to 19-6 overall and 11-4 in league play.
Kyle Wright opened the game with a jumper but the Cowboys responded quickly to even the contest at two. Wright hit another shot outside the perimeter, mirrored by Josiah Johnson and Jerry Day, Jr. for a 17-4 lead. UMHB hit five three-pointers in the first five minutes of action to take a 13-point margin over the Cowboys.
UMHB maintained a double-digit lead over HSU, going ahead by as many as 19 points in the first ten minutes of action. The Cru extended that lead to 20 off a jumper from Wright at 8:31 and went ahead by 25 off a Josiah Johnson three-pointer at 6:38. Hardin-Simmons cut the gap to the teens at 4:15 but a Connor Zamiara jumper again extended the lead to 20. The Cowboys cut the gap to 17 with 1:45 to play but Wright closed the half with five more points for a 57-35 halftime margin.
Wright led the Cru with 20 points while Josiah Johnson added 17. UMHB shot 60.6 percent in the first half and limited the Cowboys to just a 44.0 percent showing in the first frame.
Josiah Johnson opened the second frame with a jumper, followed by another Wright three-pointer for a 22-point lead. The Cowboys cut the gap to 18 at 16:13 and the game toggled in the high-teens, low-20s until the 2:51 mark when Trevion Howell hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 14. Payton Brooks and Kyle Wright responded with back-to-back three-pointers to extend the margin back to 20. UMHB closed out the half with another three-pointer from Johnson, sealing the 110-91 win.
Kyle Wright led the Cru with a career-high 33 points, followed by Josiah Johnson with 30. Eli Beard and Zach Engels also finished in double-digits with 13 and 12 points respectively. UMHB shot 53.7 percent in the contest, making 36 field goals with 17 three-pointers. Johnson led the Cru with 10 rebounds, followed by Connor Zamiara with nine. Johnson also recorded a team-high six assists with Wright and Day each adding five.
UMHB led the entire game, scoring 24 points in the paint with 18 points off turnovers. The Cru added 28 points off the bench with 15 fast break points.
The Cru returns to action in the ASC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 20th. UMHB earned the right to host a quarterfinal match and will face No. 5 seed East Texas Baptist University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.
