SAN ANTONIO, Texas – University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball fell to Trinity 82-77 on Tuesday evening. This moves the Cru's record to 4-4 on the season while the Tigers improve to 7-2.
The matchup opened evenly, with both teams putting up two in each possession, making it a quick 4-4 game. The Tigers pushed ahead at the 13:20 mark, taking the lead 15-6. The Cru rallied with Zach May and Hudson Johnson hitting four back-to-back threes in consecutive possessions to cut the Tigers' lead to 28-24 with 6:34 remaining in the half. UMHB made it a one-point game with two free throws from Zach Engels, but Trinity continued to push, taking a nine-point lead at 42-33 with a minute left in the first frame. Elijah Lawrence closed the half with a free throw, heading to halftime with the Tigers up 42-34.
Johnson, May, and Lawrence led the scoring for the Cru in the first frame with six points each. Engels led in rebounds, adding three, while Lawrence led with three steals.
Zach May broke through first in the second half with a layup 15 seconds in. Shots from Connor Zamiara and Zach Engels helped the Cru close the gap, but the Tigers remained ahead 46-40. Hudson Johnson added two threes along with layups from Engels and Josiah Wray to move the score to 75-64 with 4:08 left in the game. A three-pointer and a layup from Engels took the Cru within six points of the Tigers, followed by two free throws from Zamiara to make it a 77-73 game with 1:33 left to play. Johnson narrowed the gap with two made free throws to trail Trinity by two. Johnson closed out the matchup with a fastbreak layup, but the Tigers took the win 82-77.
Zach Engels led the Cru with a double-double on the night, totaling 25 points and 12 rebounds. Hudson Johnson added 20 points with four three-pointers.
"I am extremely proud of our guys for their fight and their grit to never give up," Head Coach Sam Patterson said. "I'm disappointed in the way the game ended. There were plenty of opportunities where our players could have thrown in the towel and given up, but that's not in our DNA. Our leadership is strong and the way this team continues to battle is inspiring. We need to learn from this experience and be ready to play a great team on Thursday at home."
UMHB returns to action at home on Thursday, December 11th in a 7:00pm contest against Arlington Baptist.
