BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor basketball team earned an overtime win over East Texas Baptist University Saturday afternoon in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 16-6 on the season with a 3-0 record in American Southwest Conference action.
 
UMHB jumped to an early lead but the Tigers responded, pulling ahead at the 17:38 mark. UMHB retook the lead at 16:32 and held the high ground until ETBU tied the contest again at 13. The Tigers took charge from there, leading by as many as eight points. Back-to-back layups from Elijah Lawrence pulled the Cru within two but the Tigers answered again, ending the half on a six-point run to go into halftime up 38-31.
 
Lawrence led the Cru with 12 first-half points while Zachary Engels added eight. UMHB shot 38.2 percent in the half while the Tigers put up a 40.5 percent showing.
 
The Tigers took a commanding lead in the second half, going ahead by 15 with 17:01 to play. UMHB cut the gap to 10 at 13:50 off a foul shot from Cam Stinson and UMHB continued to press, pulling within one at the 6:03 mark. UMHB took the lead at 4:14 and the game toggled back-and-forth from there, sending the contest into overtime knotted at 73.
 
Grant Jessen opened overtime with a layup, followed by a pair of foul shots from the Tigers at 4:04. UMHB took a two-point lead at 3:04 off a Connor Zamiara layup before Donta Coady extended the lead to four off a pair of Donta Coady free throws. Engels tacked on with a layup at 1:05 but ETBU fought back, pulling within two with 26 seconds left to play.
 
Jonathan Legget made a pair of foul shots at 00:22 to put the Cru back up by four but an ETBU three-pointer cut the gap back down to one. Stinson added two more foul shots with 12 seconds left to seal the 87-84 win.
 
Zachary Engels led the Cru with a career-high 37 points, making 13 shots from the field and 10 from the foul line. Elijah Lawrence followed with 15 points while Donta Coady added nine. Coady was also the Cru's leading rebounder with nine while Engels and Coady each added three assists.
 
UMHB shot 43.5 percent in the contest with a 60 percent showing in overtime. UMHB scored 52 points in the paint with 18 points from the bench.

"I am really proud of the resilience our team showed tonight," Head Coach Sam Patterson said. "Being down 16 points in the second half and forcing overtime is a credit to the toughness we have and the leadership on this team to never quit. I was disappointed in our energy in the first half. Credit to ETBU for coming out and setting the tone early. I thought our guys responded well and even though we did not shoot the ball well, we were able to get to the paint and execute down the stretch. Congratulations to Zach Engels on a career night. He brings it every single day and is a great example to follow." 
 
The Cru returns to action on Tuesday, February 10^th in a 6 p.m. contest against Hardin-Simmons University at the Mayborn Campus Center in Belton.  

"Thank you for the fans that showed up tonight for the doubleheader," Patterson added. "The energy from the crowd was electric and definitely impacted the game. Hope to see everyone back on Tuesday night!"