BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team earned a seven-point win over Howard Payne University Saturday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 18-7 on the season and 5-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the Yellow Jackets fell to 13-12 overall and 1-5 in league play.
 
Howard Payne jumped to an 8-1 lead early but UMHB answered, pulling within two at the 16:39 mark and taking its first lead of the game off a Zach Engels three-pointer at 15:32. Howard Payne answered and jumped back on top but UMHB countered again with a Josiah Wray jumper for a 14-13 Cru advantage. The game played in a five-point margin until the final two minutes when Engels hit another three for a 51-44 UMHB lead. Braylon Crosby made a three-pointer for the Yellow Jackets at 1:18 and Elijah Lawrence responded with a jumper, sending the game into halftime with UMHB on top 53-47.
 
Donta Coady led the Cru with 14 points in the first half, followed by Lawrence with 12 and Engels with 10. UMHB shot 43.6 percent in the first half while the Yellow Jackets put up a 54.8 percent showing.  
 
The second half played within five points with both teams exchanging leads several times. Donta Coady made a layup at 5:01 to tie the game at 82 and drained the ensuing foul shot for an 83-82 UMHB lead. The Yellow Jackets answered with a three but Connor Zamiara hit a jumper at 4:10 to tie the game again at 85. UMHB got back on top with a layup from Engels and extended the lead to four off an Elijah Lawrence three-pointer at 1:44.
 
Howard Payne cut the gap to one but a pair of Cam Stinson foul shots and a Lawrence layup gave the Cru a 94-89 lead with 41 seconds to play. UMHB extended the lead to seven with 20 seconds to play, finishing the game with a 98-91 UMHB win.
 
Elijah Lawrence led the Cru with 22 points, followed by Donta Coady with 20 points and Zach Engels with 16 points. Engels also recorded a double-double, bringing down 10 rebounds while Connor Zamiara had a team-high 13 boards. Stinson and Engels also led with four assists each.
 
UMHB returns to action in the 2026 American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament February 27^th – 28^th.