Belton, TX.; — The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men’s basketball team could not overcome red-hot first-half shooting from U.T.-Dallas and the Crusaders comeback attempt fell short in a 78-70 loss to the Comets Tuesday night in Belton. The loss drops the UMHB men to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in American Southwest Conference. The Comets stay unbeaten at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the ASC with the victory.
The Comets hit their first seven shots from the field and built a 17-point lead midway through the first half. UTD finished at 63 per cent from the field and 67 per cent from three-point range in the first half and led 43-27 at halftime. UMHB battled back and cut the lead to 52-45 with 11:01 remaining before a quick Comet run pushed the lead back to 17. UMHB made another run to pull to within seven points at 75-68 with 46 seconds left to play, but UMHB would not get closer as the Comets hit 3-6 from the free-throw line to close out the game.
The Comets finished at 57 per cent shooting from the field and hit 10-20 from beyond the arc. UMHB shot just 42 per cent from the field and 22 per cent from long-range. Ryan Burgart led the Crusaders with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Matt Dickey added 13 points and Kevin Guyden had 11 for UMHB. Martin Salinas led UTD with 19 points and Travis Carruthers added 16 for the Comets. Scott Rodgers also came off the bench to score 12 for UTD.
The UMHB men will now have an 11-day break for finals. The Crusaders return to action with a trip to East Texas for a pair of ASC games on December 16th and 18th. The UMHB men will face East Texas Baptist and LeTourneau University on that road trip.