By Bradley Melchor/ Sports Editor
The UMHB Men’s and Women’s basketball teams closed out their respective regular seasons over the weekend as they hosted the McMurry Warhawks on Thursday night and arch-rivals Hardin-Simmons University on Saturday afternoon.
The Crusaders started the weekend on a strong note, with the women’s team defeating the Warhawks by a score of 77-71. The Cru offense was buoyed by an incredibly efficient team shooting night from the three point line and their ability to get to the free throw line, as the Crusaders converted 45% of their three-point attempts and over 22 free throws in the game.
The men’s team followed up with an incredibly nail biting performance, with the Cru outlasting McMurry in overtime and winning by a final score of 110-102. The Crusaders’ star guards Josiah Johnson and Eli Beard combined for 69 points in the win, with Johnson exploding for 14 points in overtime to secure the UMHB victory.
The Crusaders then turned their attention to their weekend matchup with bitter rivals Hardin-Simmons, with both matchups having huge ASC tournament implications. The winner of the women’s game would clinch the ASC regular season championship and the right to host the conference tournament, while the men's team would secure the right to host the ASC quarterfinal game with a victory over Hardin-Simmons.
The women’s team would unfortunately fall to the Cowgirls in an overtime thriller, with Hardin-Simmons edging out a 88-85 victory despite 20 point performances from UMHB guards Arieona Rosborough and Lauren Baker, securing home field advantage in the postseason.
The men’s team on the other hand would not allow the Cowboys to leave Belton with another victory, as the Cru secured an emphatic wire-to-wire 110-91 victory behind a heroic 33 point performance from Senior point guard Kyle Wright, and another 30 point performance from Johnson.
With the regular season concluded, the ASC tournament brackets have now been set, and the Crusaders know exactly what they need to do in order to secure their respective ASC Championships and National Tournament Berths. The men’s team will play the first round of the tournament when they host ETBU at the Mayborn Campus Center Tuesday night at 7 p.m., while the women’s team will await the results of the quarterfinal matchup between UT Dallas and the University of the Ozarks to decide who they will face in Abilene Friday at 12 p.m. for their semifinal matchup.
