BELTON, Texas - The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball fought hard but came up short to Hardin-Simmons University in the 2025 American Southwest Conference Men's Basketball Championship.  
 
Hardin-Simmons jumped ahead early with a pair of foul shots just three seconds into action. Eli Beard and Chris Bryant exchanged baskets twice on each end, making the score 6-4 two minutes into play. Austin Brewer made a layup for HSU at 17:10 which was quickly answered by Maurice Pinnock for the Cru. A Ryan Pondant layup at 16:02 evened the contest at eight with Beard giving UMHB the lead at the 15:09 mark. HSU answered with a 6-0 run to retake the lead.
 
The Cowboys stayed on top, leading by as many as seven in the first part of the first half. The Cru fought back, evening the contest at 23 with 4:48 to play in the frame. Hardin-Simmons responded with a three-pointer and a jumper before Pinnock answered with a three for the Cru to cut the gap back down to two. Hardin-Simmons defended the high ground the rest of the way, taking a 34-31 lead into halftime.
                                                                                                                                 
Eli Beard and Maurice Pinnock led the Cru with 10 first-half points each.
 
UMHB fought back in the second half and took a 39-38 lead at 17:48 before a layup from the Cowboys put them back on top. Hardin-Simmons quickly extended the lead to 10 and that margin toggled between single and double digits until a layup at 10:41 put HSU up by 12. The Cowboys held the double-digit margin until the 2:57 mark when a free throw by Maurice Pinnock and layup from Zach May cut the gap down to seven. HSU held the Cru scoreless the rest of the way, cruising to the 73-62 win.
 
Pinnock led the Cru with 23 points, followed by Beard with 16 and Donta Coady with 10. Jerry Day, Jr. led UMHB with 11 rebounds, followed by Ryan Pondant with nine. Beard led the Cru in the assist column with four. UMHB shot 30.3 percent in the contest, scoring 18 points in the paint and 16 points off the bench.
 
UMHB ends the season at 15-11 with a 3-5 mark in American Southwest Conference action. Eli Beard and Maurice Pinnock were also named to the American Southwest Conference All-Tournament team.