Sports
UMHB prepares to host annual CRU Holiday Classic
Sunday, 06 January 2013 by Tony Adams
UMHB’s James Allen goes up for a layup earlier in the season. The Crusaders will host the CRU Holiday Classic this weekend.Following a great Christmas season, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor is preparing to host the two-night, four-game 2012 Cru Holiday Classic at Mayborn Campus Center on Friday and Saturday nights.
The tournament includes American Southwest Conference foe Concordia University Texas, Edgewood College (WI), Rust College (MS) and UMHB.
UMHB comes into the tournament with 7-2 record for the season and 5-0 in the ASC, good for first place in the ASC West Division. The Crusaders' have averaged 73 points a game and brings a balanced scoring attack to the two-game set. James Allen averages 14 points a game and Thomas Orr averages 11 points a game. Kitrick Bell has averaged a double-double per game this season, with 12 points and 11 rebounds a game.
The Cru will not play Concordia in this tournament. But UMHB will see them play Rust and Edgewood
The high-scoring Concordia comes into the tournament 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the ASC West Division. Averaging 94 points a game and coming off of a buzzer beating three-pointer against UT-Dallas 90-87, the Tornados are led by Nick Haynes and Dwayne Patterson. Haynes, the contributor averages 19 points a game and is deadly accurate from the three-point line, going 25-50 on the season. Patterson averages 16 a night, doing his work from in the paint.
Concordia makes the trip back to Belton January 8th to visit the Cru to make it count on the ASC ledger.
Making the trip from Madison, Wisconsin, Edgewood College Eagles 2-8 is overall and 1-3 in the Northern Athletic Conference's North Division. The Eagles, averaging 60 points a game, is coming off of a rough Edgewood is coming off a rough game against the Division III ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater. Cashton Craig and Joe Klocek are the scoring leaders for Edgewood. Each averaging 11 points per game, Craig's role is the team's three point sharpshooter (20-49), while Klocek does his damage down low in the paint.
Taking the trip from Holly Springs, Mississippi, the Division III Independent Rust College Bearcats come into the Cru Classic 7-7. Averaging 76 points a game, the Bearcats are coming off of a 102-89 loss to Birmingham Southern. The Bearcats leading scorer on the season is Larry Veasley.
Edgewood will take on Concordia on Friday at 5:30 and with Rust taking on UMHB in the nightcap. Rust returns at 5:30 Saturday to take on Concordia with Edgewood and UMHB to follow.
