Sports
UMHB men improve to 9-2
Monday, 14 January 2013 by Tony Adams
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Cedric Hudson goes up for a basket during a game last week. The Cru improved to 9-2 on the season after the Cru Holiday Classic.It's funny how the complexion of a game can swing on just one shot. It's the magic of basketball.
Antonie Chaney's steal and mid-court 3-point basket deflated an Edgewood charge to close out the first half. From there, the Cru took control and landed UMHB a 71-53 win against the visiting Eagles from Wisconsin at the finale of the Cru Classic
UMHB moves to 9-2 on the season with its eighth straight victory. The loss drops the Eagles to 2-11 on the season.
The Cru scored the game's first 11 points and built a 23-9 lead early in the first half. Edgewood answered with a 16-2 run to tie the game at 25 with 5:06 remaining in the first half. The Eagles took their only lead at 28-27 before UMHB closed the half with a 9-4 run, capped by Chaney's steal and half-court three-pointer at the buzzer to take a 36-32 halftime lead. Edgewood cut it to 36-34 in the early going in the second half, but the Cru snapped back with an 11-3 run of their own. The Eagles would not get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
"They (Edgewood) shot the ball so well in the first half," said coach Ken DeWeese. "We weren't prepared for some of the different things they were doing with different people. It got us off what we had prepared for. We had to make some adjustments at halftime."
Cory Meals led with 17 points and James Allen added 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Thomas Orr and Russell Green scored 11 points apiece and Kitrick Bell also reached double figures with 10 for the Cru. UMHB shot 51 percent from the field and forced 18 turnovers in the victory.
Joe Klocek had 12 points to lead the Eagles. Dylan Rusch chipped in 11 and Cashton Craig scored 10 points for Edgewood. The Eagles only reached the free throw line for seven attempts, only converting two of the shots. It is a testament to the Cru's scheme for playing solid defense and not having to be aggressive to do so.
"We're different from Concordia," said DeWeese. "Their defensive philosophy is we want to run into you 90 times. We're the opposite. We don't want to put you on the free throw line. It's a totally different philosophy. We play as five men defensively and not foul the other team. We guard the hole first, the shot second, and our man third. It's a very unusual philosophy. Not many people agree with it."
When asked where he gets his philosophy from, he'll tell you it is from two of college basketball's greatest coaches.
"Mr. (Henry) Iba and Don Haskins taught me that," said DeWeese. "If you go back and check Mr. Iba's record, Don Haskins' record and you look at my record, it works. Over time."
The tournament also provided a big challenge for the Cru. Especially since UMHB was off for 10 days prior to the two-day tournament.
"We had 10 days off before this," said DeWeese. "We practiced, but we used this tournament to get back in game rhythm. You can't simulate game rhythm. I've been trying for a quarter century. We have a difficult stretch coming up. After the New Year, we play four very tough conference games"
The Cru will return to action with a return to American Southwest Conference play next week. UMHB will play road games at East Texas Baptist University and the University of Texas at Tyler next weekend. The Cru men play just two home games in the month of January.
Cru Knock off Rust
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's basketball team shook off the rust of a two-week layoff and then knocked off Rust College 88-67 in the opening round of the Cru Holiday Classic Friday night in Belton. The Cru improves to 8-2 on the season with the victory while the loss drops the Bearcats to 7-8 on the year.
UMHB opened the game with an 8-2 run and led 16-6 at the 13:02 mark. The Bearcats would close to within six points, but a Thomas Orr three-pointer pushed the lead back to nine and the Cru would lead by as many as 19 points before settling for a 41-25 halftime lead. UMHB opened the second half with a 6-0 run, holding the Bearcats scoreless for the first 5:22. Rust chipped away and cut the gap to 54-41 with 9:54 remaining, but the Cru answered with a 13-5 run to take the lead back over 20 points and the Bearcats did not challenge from there.
Thomas Orr scored with 16 points and he added nine rebounds. Antonie Chaney chipped in 14 points and Brian Todd had 12 for UMHB.
Shun Thompson had a game-high 18 points to lead Rust and Johnathan Bowens added 13 more off the bench. Kwahmere Gredic scored 12 to give the Bearcats three players in double figures.
