The Crusaders trailed by seven at halftime before storming back in the second half. UMHB opened the half with a 15-6 run to take a 46-44 lead with 13:04 left to play. The Crusaders would lead by as many as eight but a late HPU rally gave the Yellow Jackets a 70-68 lead with 1:25 remaining. A Brandon Gatlin free-throw pulled UMHB to within one and Justin Schwartz hit a three-pointer with 13 seconds left to put the Crusaders up 72-70. HPU drove the length of the floor with ten seconds remaining and Matt Zinser missed a pair of shots before gathering in another rebound and making a shot at the buzzer to tie the game and send it to overtime tied at 72. UMHB scored first in the extra session, but HPU went on a 12-2 run in the final three minutes to pull away for the win.
Michael Blaylock led UMHB with 18 points and Justin Schwartz added 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Gatlin also reached double figures with 14 points for the Crusaders. Kendrick Johnson had a game-high 21 points to lead HPU and Zinser added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Cliff McGuire also posted a double-double for the Jackets with 15 points and 12 boards.
The Crusaders will wrap up their road trip Saturday afternoon in Alpine. The UMHB men will face Sul Ross State in a 3:00 PM tip-off that day before returning home to host Howard Payne and Sul Ross State next week in Belton.