BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men’s basketball team opened up a double-digit first half lead and the Cru rolled from there in a 103-80 victory over Schreiner University Monday in Belton. UMHB improves to 5-0 on the season with the win. The loss drops the Mountaineers to 2-5 on the year.
The Cru built a pair of early four-point leads before Schreiner fought back to build a five-point edge at 23-18 with 9:09 left in the opening half. UMHB answered with an 8-1 run to retake the lead at 26-24. After the Mountaineers tied the game one more time, the Cru took charge by closing the half with a 20-10 run for a 46-36 halftime lead. UMHB would stretch the lead out to 20 points at 61-41 with 15:52 left to play and the Cru would lead by as many as 30 points down the stretch in topping the 100-point mark for the second straight game.
Seven players hit double figures for UMHB with Sam Moore scoring a game-high 21 and pulling down a team-best 12 rebounds. Brian Long scored 15 points, Torenzo Saunders and Byrale Carter chipped in 12 apiece, Shaqur Martin scored 11 and LaKendric Hyson and Ryan Lang both added 10 points for the Cru. UMHB shot 49 percent from the field as a team and hit 12-31 from three-point range. The Cru also out rebounded Schreiner 57-39 in the victory.
J’Sean Miller came off the bench to lead Schreiner with 17 points on 5-8 shooting from the field. Miller added a team-high eight rebounds. Matthew Rindahl scored 10 points and Ellis Jones and Josiah Lanier scored 10 points apiece. The Mountaineers shot 40 percent as a team and went 9-31 from beyond the arc.
The Cru will open American Southwest Conference play with a pair of games later this week. UMHB will take on East Texas Baptist University in a 7:30 pm start on Thursday night before facing LeTourneau University in a 7:30 pm tip on Saturday.
