Story by Izzy Crow
BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team dropped a last-second contest to Hardin-Simmons University Thursday evening in Belton. The loss dropped the Cru to 14-9 on the season and 3-4 in American Southwest Conference action while the Cowboys improved to 15-9 overall and 8-0 in league play.
Eli Beard opened up the game with back-to-back three-point plays, hitting a game-opening shot from beyond the arc and adding the field goal with an and-one.
Zach May added a crucial three-pointer at 14:19 to put the Cru ahead 14-11.
Beard hit his third three-pointer of the half at the 8:10 mark, extending the Cru's lead to 22-18. HSU fought back, going ahead by one before another Beard jumper for a one-point UMHB margin. The Cru extended the lead off a pair of foul shots from
Donta Coady before HSU's Austin Brewer connected with a three to tie the game up 27-27 with 5:57 left in the first half.
The game played scoreless from 5:57 until 2:11 with HSU's Silas Davis making a pair of free throws to put HSU back in the lead 29-27. With 1:48 left in the first half,
Josh Goings tied the game at 29-29 with two free throws. HSU put an exclamation point on the half with a dunk by Chris Bryant off an alley-oop from Asher Fleming, putting the Cowboys ahead by two. Goings answered with a jumper to tie the score with 40 seconds left in the first half, but HSU finished on top after Will Bartoszek hit a pair of foul shots.
HSU opened the second half with a jumper by Austin Brewer.
Josh Goings buried a three to put the Cru back in the lead early in the second half.
Jerry Day, Jr. added a three to extend the Cru's lead 48-41 with 15:26 to play. HSU battled back with a jumper from Bartoszek, adding the ensuing foul shot to tie the game 48-48 with 13:40 left in the second half. The half played back-to-back for the remainder of the frame. HSU took a four-point lead with 18 seconds to play but
Ryan Pondant answered with a tip-in to cut the gap to two. Pondant made a trip to the foul line with 1.1 seconds remaining, hitting the first free throw but missing the second. The Cru's last-second desperation shot fell short, ending the contest with a 72-71 Cowboy win.
Eli Beard finished with 17 points, earning him 1,000 points as a collegiate basketball player. Goings tallied 16 points while
Ryan Pondant and
Jerry Day, Jr. also added double-digit scoring performances with 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Pondant added a team-high seven rebounds while Beard had four total assists.
The score changed 10 times in the contest with 12 ties. UMHB totaled 30 points in the paint with 17 points off turnovers and 12 fast break points.
The Cru returns to action on Saturday, February 22
nd in a 3 p.m. contest against Howard Payne University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.
