MARSHALL, Texas – Leading from tip off to the end of the game, the East Texas Baptist University men's basketball team earned their 17^th win of the year with a 98-82 victory over the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. ETBU is now 17-5 overall and 10-3 in the American Southwest Conference East Division.
 
Jordan Gray recorded a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Tigers. Nathan Fontenot scored 18 points while Chris Haynes finished with 15 points. Jaden Conner (11 points) and Robby Dooley (10 points) would also score in double-figures. Sam Moore was the leading scorer for UMHB with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds.
 
ETBU won all three shooting departments including field goal percentage (46.4%-35.4%), three-point percentage (39.5%-31.3%), and free throw percentage (86.4%-82.4%). While UMHB grabbed three more rebounds than ETBU (49-46), ETBU managed a 35-28 edge in defensive rebounds. In addition, ETBU finished with 11 steals, 17 points off turnovers, and 23 fast break points.
 
The Tigers began with an 8-0 run (20:00-18:53) starting with five straight points from Dooley (19:45-19:23). A 7-3 run by UMHB (15:48-14:08) cut the lead to four, 11-7, but ETBU opened up the lead to eight, 24-16, as Fontenot (10:35-9:15) tallied five unanswered points. A pair of Landin Brown free throws (7:38) would see ETBU's first double-digit lead at 29-18. The Crusaders would put up 15 of the next 24 points (7:28-2:19) to trail 38-33. A three by Gray (1:46) and a layup by Haynes (0:51) would put the Tigers up ten at halftime, 43-33.
 
A three-point play by UMHB (19:50) brought them within seven, 43-36, at the start of the second half. After a layup by Haynes (18:53), ETBU would maintain the double-digit lead from then on. ETBU would have strong contributions in the half, including 13 points from Fontenot and eight points from Jaden Conner in a 9-3 stretch (11:36-10:40). On multiple occasions during the half, ETBU would grab their largest at 22 points with their first at 84-62 (6:42) and 94-72 (3:05). In the end, UMHB would cut the lead to sixteen points with a 10-4 run to make the final 98-82.

ETBU will shift their attention to Concordia University-Texas this Saturday at 3:00 PM in Ornelas Gym.