By Bradley Melchor/ Sports Editor
The UMHB Men’s Basketball team traveled to Marshall on Thursday night for their first game of a two game road trip, facing off against ASC rivals East Texas Baptist University in a rematch after securing a 79-69 victory over the Tigers earlier in the season.
The Crusaders came into the night sitting at 5-4 in conference play, hoping to build on their two game winning streak and continue rising in the ASC standings. Senior guard Josiah Johnson got the Crusader offense going early, pouring in nine of his 22 points in the first 10 minutes of the game to put the Cru up 21-11 early.
ETBU would not let the game slip away from them though, answering back and slowly chipping away at the UMHB lead, cutting the deficit to just one point as the Cru went into halftime up 32-31.
Coming out of the break, the Crusaders continued to struggle with ball security as they turned the ball over six times in the first ten minutes of the half, allowing the Tigers to build a seven point lead of their own. Thanks to a quick eight point burst from junior guard Eli Beard, the Crusaders were able to keep the game within reach, with ETBU leading by two points with four minutes left to play. With the Tigers’ lead all but gone, the Crusaders turned to Johnson down the stretch. With less than two minutes left on the clock, Johnson hit a clutch three point attempt to square the game at 58-58. Despite the late momentum shift and scoring runs from Beard and Johnson, the Crusaders’ night would end in heartbreak as a pair of late ETBU three pointers would see them squeak out a 67-60 victory over the Cru.
With this defeat, the Crusaders fall to 5-5 in conference on the season, and into fifth place in the ASC standings. The Cru will look to bounce back when they travel to Longview on Saturday where they will take on LeTourneau University at 3 p.m.
