UMHB opened up a 13-point lead in the first half before a late Howard Payne rally cut it to 38-30 Crusaders at halftime. UMHB then opened the second half with a 25-9 run to open up a 24-point lead with 12:26 remaining. The Yellow Jackets would not cut it to less than 14 points the rest of the way as the Crusaders pulled away for the victory.
Michael Blaylock led UMHB with 23 points and he added five rebounds and five assists. Brandon Gatlin added 12 points on 5-7 shooting before leaving the game with an injury with 15:16 left to play. Adam Wiese and Connor Kuykendall added 11 points apiece for UMHB and Jimmy Carter had 10 points for the Crusaders. Josh Weatherred came off the bench to score 18 points for HPU and Sean Wheeler added 17 points off the bench for the Yellow Jackets. Kendrick Johnson also reached double figures with 14 points and Frank Jones had 11. UMHB shot 59 per cent from the field and went 27-32 from thee free-throw line. HPU shot just 40 per cent from the field and turned the ball over 30 times. UMHB’s Michael Blaylock scored the first points in the new arena on a three-pointer 31 seconds into the first half.
The Crusaders will continue their home stand on Saturday afternoon. UMHB will welcome Sul Ross State to the Mayborn Campus Center for a 3:00 PM tip-off.