Story by Izzy Crow
BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team lost a close decision to Howard Payne University Saturday afternoon in Belton, falling 90-88.  The Cru ended the regular season at 14-10 overall and 3-5 in American Southwest Conference action while the Yellow Jackets improved to 12-13 on the season and 3-5 in league play.
 
Beard opened senior day up with a big three from the right wing, putting UMHB on the board first. HPU came out shooting with three consecutive threes to take the lead 11-5. Eli Beard drained his second three of the half to close the gap and bring the Cru within one at the 15:41 mark. Howard Payne answered with a 10-0 run before Connor Zamiara ended the streak with a baseline jumper to cut the gap with 11:32 left in the first half. Ryan Pondant followed with back-to-back jumpers and both teams continued to score, ending the first half with a 48-39 Howard Payne lead.
 
Eli Beard led the Cru with 15 points in the first half while Pondant brought down nine rebounds. Ben Philip was the Yellow Jackets' leading scorer, finishing with 12 points and going four-for-five from the three-point line. Howard Payne shot 52.9 percent as a team from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of action.
 
Ryan Pondant opened the second half with a jumper to start chipping away at the Yellow Jackets' lead. The game went back-and-forth with the Yellow Jackets leading by at least eight for the majority of the half. Trey Seigle brought a spark off the bench, hitting a momentous three to cut the gap to nine with 15:47 to play. Eli Beard and Maurice Pinnock both continued to press, hitting jumpers and layups to keep the margin at single digits. Pinnock eventually pulled the Cru within two with a layup and ensuing foul shot at 00:40. Hudson  Johnson added a pair of foul shots on the other end before a putback from Zach May cut the gap back to two. Seigle ended scoring for the Cru with a free throw at 00:03 but the Yellow Jackets held on for the 90-88 win.
 
Maurice Pinnock was the leading scorer for the Cru, putting up 24 points with Eli Beard behind him with 22. Ryan Pondant moved to second in the UMHB record book, totaling 22 rebounds. Pondant also added 16 points and three blocks in his final game at the Mayborn Campus Center.
 
UMHB returns to action in the American Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament next week.