BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking last-minute loss to East Texas Baptist University Thursday evening in Belton. The Cru opened American Southwest Conference action at 0-1 with a 11-5 record on the season while the Tigers improved to 6-13 overall and 2-1 in league play.
 
UMHB opened the first half with seven unanswered points, led by Eli Beard with three. ETBU got on the board at the 15:56 mark and quickly cut the gap to just one point. The game played within one possession until 10:10 when the Tigers went ahead by five off a jumper from JT Curry.
 
ETBU held the high ground, leading by as many as nine points before the Cru fought back with a 5-0 run to cut that gap to four. ETBU answered with a jumper at 3:30 before the game went into scoreless play until 00:51 when the Tigers made a foul shot. Ryan Pondant added a jumper at 00:37 followed by an ETBU basket at 00:21 to give the Tigers a 37-30 lead after the first half.
 
The Cru came out firing in the second half, opening the frame with a 16-0 run that spanned more than four minutes. Zach May highlighted the run, draining a pair of three-pointers, including the go-ahead at 16:59. UMHB stayed on top, leading by ten points with 7:55 to play.
 
The Tigers mounted a comeback at that point, going on a 5-0 run to cut the gap to six. Josh Goings made a pair of foul shots to extend the lead but the Tigers responded with a three-pointer at 3:29 and a jumper at 2:41 to pull within two. Eli Beard responded with a jumper and foul shot to put the Cru back up by five with 2:14 to play.
 
Joshua Davis hit a three-pointer for the Tigers at 1:16 to cut the lead back to two before Jason Justice made a jump shot at 00:42 to even the contest at 63. The Tigers forced a turnover on the next possession and Justice made another jumper with four seconds to play to secure the 65-63 win.
 
Eli Beard led the Cru with 15 points while Ryan Pondant and Josh Goings each added 10. Pondant also had a double-double in the contest, bringing down 15 rebounds with 12 defensive boards. Josh Goings was the Cru's leader with five assists while UMHB added two blocks and nine steals in the matchup.
 
UMHB returns to action on Saturday, January 25^th in a 3 p.m. contest against LeTourneau University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.