ALPINE, Texas – After the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (#4 West seed) made the opening bucket, East Texas Baptist University (#1 East seed) went on a 16-4 run and never gave the lead up again holding onto a 70-64 victory in the first round of the American Southwest Conference Championship Tournament. The win puts ETBU in the semi-finals for the second year in a row and now gives them 21 victories overall.
Dylan Augustine tied his career-high of 25 points to lead all players and was the lone ETBU player to finish in double figures. Augustine converted six-of-10 attempts from three-point range, marking the ninth time this season that he has hit at least four three-point shots. He also converted five-of-six free throws and chipped in three rebounds and three assists. Junior Mitchell added six points, five rebounds and a game-best seven assists.
"We knew Mary Hardin-Baylor was big and strong but we also knew that if we ran our offense and grind them down we would get the shots we wanted to help us win," says Augustine. "We had a lot of good looks tonight from the three-point line and wide open looks and we did well shooting the three-pointer."
For Mary Hardin-Baylor, Demarius Cress scored a team-high 16 points off the bench to go along with four rebounds, while Russell Green contributed 14 points and four rebounds. Braden Hammond finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Overall, ETBU ended the day with a team shooting percentage of 44.6 percent (25-of-56) and hit 13-of-33 shots from three-point distance (39.4 percent). Additionally, the team totaled four more assists than turnovers (19-to-15). UMHB finished shooting 41 percent from the floor, 35 percent from the three-point line, and only 56 percent from the line. ETBU also won the rebounding battle, 38-33.
In the first half, ETBU held an 8-6 lead with 15:30 until the half and then used a 13-3 run to gain some space from Mary Hardin-Baylor. During this stretch, three different players contributed points with Anthony Davis converting a pair of three-point shots. A basket by Bret Atkins with 11:35 on the clock pushed ETBU ahead by a dozen points, 21-9.
Later in the opening half, Jay McKnight hit a 3-pointer to give ETBU another 12-point advantage, 26-14, at the 9:18 mark. Mary Hardin-Baylor responded, however, with a 9-0 spurt to draw within three points, 26-23, with 5:29 remaining until halftime. A basket by Mitchell at the 1:21 mark accounted for the final points of the first half as the teams exited the court with ETBU ahead, 37-30.
During the second half, Mary Hardin-Baylor came within three points once again after a Sidney Deloach free throw with 15:28 on the clock making it a 42-39 game. ETBU then scored the next seven points to reassume a double-digit edge, 49-39, with 13:34 remaining in regulation. Following a successful three-point shot by Atkins at the 9:14 mark, ETBU held a 57-46 advantage, but yet again Mary Hardin-Baylor rallied.
A 10-2 spurt by Mary Hardin-Baylor dwindled ETBU's lead to three points, 59-56, with just a hair less than five minutes to play. Further on down the line, a basket by Hammond with 1:02 left brought Mary Hardin-Baylor within three points, 67-64, but Augustine hit three free throws to nail down the ETBU victory, 70-64.
ETBU faces Louisiana College on Friday at 5 p.m. inside of the Pete P. Gallego Center. The winner advances to compete in the ASC Championship Tournament final on Saturday.
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