The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men’s basketball team will tip off the 2018-19 season with a pair of road games against Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents this week. UMHB will take on Schreiner University in the season opener Thursday night before facing off with Texas Lutheran University Saturday afternoon.
The Cru welcomes back three starters and nine letter winners from a team that finished 17-9 overall and went 10-7 in American Southwest Conference play last season. UMHB advanced to the ASC Championship Tournament and is picked to finish second in the West Division in this year’s ASC Preseason Coaches and Media Poll. The Cru returns four players who earned ASC All-West Division honors last year. Forward Brian Long (Sr., San Bernardino, CA) was a First Team All-West Division pick after averaging 14.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last season. Long also shot 64 percent from the field. Guard Demarius Cress (Sr., Killeen) was a Second Team All-West selection after scoring a team-high 15.5 points per game and dishing a team-best 100 assists. Forward Shaqur Martin (Sr., St. Croix, Virgin Islands) earned Honorable Mention All-West Division honors after 7.0 points per game and grabbing 3.4 boards per contest. Guard LaKendric Hyson (Sr., Hearne) was West Division Tri-Newcomer of the Year and also claimed a spot on the West Division All-Defensive Team. Hyson also scored 15.5 points per game and led UMHB with 45 steals and 35 blocked shots. The Cru also added a deep recruiting class that features five transfers and one freshman this season. UMHB will also play at Trinity University on November 14th. The NCAA changed the start date for Division III competition this season, so the Cru will play three games before the traditional start date of November 15th.
“It has been beneficial in terms of helping us get some teams to play us and scheduling,” Cru Head Coach Ken DeWeese said. “We are going to have to get some of our team stuff done on the fly because our practice schedule is more compressed. Our players are looking forward to it and I’m looking forward to it because we are going to learn from this experience because it is new to all of us.”
Schreiner University finished 15-14 last season and went 10-4 in SCAC play. The Mountaineers are under the direction of former Cru player and student assistant coach Connor Kuykendall. Texas Lutheran posted a 12-15 overall record and a 7-7 mark in SCAC play last year.
Thursday’s season opener in Kerrville is scheduled to tip at 6:30 pm. Saturday’s contest is slated for a 3 pm start in Seguin. Links to live coverage of those games is available on the UMHB Athletic Department website at cruathletics.com.
