BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor held on for a three-point win over LeTourneau University Monday evening in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 10-5 on the season while the YellowJackets fell to 7-4.
 
The first half played back-and-forth until the Cru used a ten-point run to go ahead 21-12. LeTourneau pulled the game back within one and tied the contest at 25 but a three-pointer from Elijah Lawrence and a layup from Connor Zamiara put the Cru up 35-27 with 6:20 to play. UMHB held a seven-point lead with just under six minutes to go and maintained the high ground, taking a 51-43 lead into halftime.
 
UMHB led for the duration of the second half. LeTourneau cut the lead to two possessions for the majority of the frame but UMHB held on to the high ground. The Yellowjackets cut the lead to two with 5:29 to go and kept the game close, pulling back within three at the 1:53 mark. A jumper from Donta Coady as the shot clock expired put the Cru up by five but a free throw and three-pointer from LeTourneau put it back to a one-point margin. Hudson Johnson made two foul shots for a three-point lead and UMHB's defense held off three last-second three-point attempts to secure the 88-85 win.

"This game had the feel of a conference game from start to finish," Head Coach Sam Patterson said. "I felt like we were on the verge of breaking it open a couple of times in the second half but LeTourneau answered our run every time with big shots. I thought they made some highly contested shots and that's a credit to their players and coaches for putting them in position. Anytime we can win a game while allowing a team to make 15 three-pointers means we're digging deep to find a way to win. I'm proud of our guys for setting the tone in the paint. We knew we could attack them with our offensive rebounding and aggression inside. I thought we set the tone with getting paint touches early in the game and we were relentless on the glass." 
 
Hudson Johnson led the Cru with 28 points while Zach Engels had 19 and Elijah Lawrence tallied 14. Engels also had a double-double, ending with 10 rebounds while adding four assists.

"Winning is not easy and I'm proud of our guys for finding a way to win this one and responding after the game against Concordia," Patterson added. "When you get later into the season and you start to play teams for the second time, scoring becomes harder and defending becomes paramount. Coaches are taking away first and second options, so attention to detail and execution has to be on point. I thought we were good in stretches but also I thought we relaxed a little in stretches and it showed in a little bit of slopiness on offense."
 
UMHB returns to action on Wednesday, January 7^th in a 7 p.m. contest against College of Biblical Studies at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.

"I want to thank everyone who showed up tonight. The energy was electric and the crowd was phenomenal. These players really fed off the energy in Mayborn and we can't thank everyone enough for supporting us on a Monday night."