UMHB trailed by eight points early in the second half before battling back to tie the game at 46. The two teams would trade the lead until Hardin-Simmons went up 65-61 on Zach Pickelman’s free throw with 1:03 to play. Kevin Guyden hit two free-throws to pull UMHB to within 65-63 with 50 seconds left and after HSU missed two shots, Justin Schwartz hit a short jumper for the Cru with six seconds left to send the game to overtime. The Cowboys would take a 70-67 lead with 2:58 to play in the overtime, but Patrick Oliver hit two free-throws and a lay-up to give UMHB a 71-70 lead with 1:41 to go. Oliver and Connor Kuykendall then combined to hit three free-throws to put the Crusaders on top 74-70 before Tanner Kudrna’s jumper pulled HSU to within 74-72 with 15 seconds left. Jimmy Carter hit a free-throw and HSU missed a pair of potential game-tying three-pointers in the final seconds to clinch the victory for UMHB.
Oliver led the Crusaders with 18 points and nine rebounds and Kevin Guyden added 17 points for UMHB. Schwartz scored 13 for the Cru and Ryan Burgart added 11 points and four blocked shots off the bench. Pickelman led HSU with 21 points and Kudrna had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Cowboys. UMHB shot 40 per cent from the field and hit 22-27 from the free-throw line while HSU only hit 13-18 from the stripe.
The Crusaders will continue their trip through Abilene with another ASC West Division showdown at McMurry University on Saturday. That game will tip-off at 3:00 PM. Hardin-Simmons will host Concordia University for a 3:00 PM start on Saturday.