The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men’s basketball team will extend its own American Southwest Conference record for tournament appearances when the Cru makes its 18th trip to the ASC Championship Tournament this week. UMHB is the #2 seed from the West Division and will be playing in the conference tournament for the 15th consecutive season.
The Cru enters the tournament with a 17-8 overall record and went 10-7 in ASC play to clinch the West Division’s #2 seed. UMHB will face East Division #3 seed East Texas Baptist (19-6) in a noon Quarterfinal Game on Thursday in the opening game of the tournament. The Cru fell to the Tigers 106-96 in Marshall in the regular season meeting between the two teams in December. Demarius Cress had 25 points to lead three UMHB players in double figures. ETBU buried 21 three-pointers as a team and Jordan Gray scored a team-high 25 points. On the season, Cress leads the Cru in scoring at 15.4 points per game and three other players are also averaging in double figures. Cress also has a team-high 96 assists and Justin Gammill leads UMHB in rebounding at 6.9 boards per game. Five players average double figures for ETBU with Robby Dooley leading the way at 16.6 points per contest. The UMHB-ETBU winner will advance to a 5:00 PM Semifinal on Friday to face the winner of the LeTourneau University (22-3)-Howard Payne University (11-14) Quarterfinal matchup. The other side of the bracket has U.T.-Dallas (18-7) taking on Concordia Texas (15-10) at 5:00 PM with tournament host Sul Ross State (19-6) playing U.T.-Tyler (17-8) at 7:30 PM. The winners of those two games will meet in the other Semifinal at 7:30 PM on Friday. The ASC Championship Game is scheduled for 6:00 PM on Saturday with the winner clinching the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships. The ASC Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament will be played at the Pete P. Gallegos Center on the campus of Sul Ross State University in Alpine.
The Cru is a two-time ASC champion, winning the conference title in 2008 and 2010 and UMHB is 14-15 all-time in ASC Tournament play. Hardin-Simmons University is the two-time defending ASC champion, but the Cowboys failed to qualify for the ASC Tournament this season. Sul Ross State University will provide live video and statistical coverage of all ASC Tournament games and you can access that coverage though links on the UMHB Athletic Department web site at www.cruathletics.com. For more information on the 2018 ASC Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament, please visit the Sul Ross State Tournament Central page at the following link:http://www.srlobos.com/news/2018/2/17/general-tournament-fan-zone.aspx.
