MBB: American Southwest Conference

[Riley Zayas]

UMHB men's basketball will face D1 UT-Arlington on Nov. 13. It will be the Mavericks' homecoming game and is set for 7 p.m. in Arlington. UMHB will also host Southwestern on Nov. 9.

https://truetothecru.com/2021/08/21/umhb-mens-basketball-to-face-ut-arlington-in-non-conference-play/

[Riley Zayas]

UMHB has released its entire 2021-22 schedule. The Cru open the season against Southwestern on Nov. 9 and will also play at the D3hoops.com Classic on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30 in Las Vegas.

https://truetothecru.com/2021/09/19/umhb-mens-basketballs-2021-22-schedule-features-top-tier-competition-trip-to-d3hoops-com-classic/

[Riley Zayas]

UMHB men's basketball adds another D1 opponent to its schedule in Stephen F. Austin. Tip off is set for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

https://truetothecru.com/2021/11/08/umhb-mens-basketball-adds-a-second-d-i-opponent-to-schedule-in-stephen-f-austin/

[umhb2001]

Great showing tonight by The Cru. Josiah Johnson started cold then came on red hot in their 100 pt effort, 20 pt win over Southwestern.

[Riley Zayas]

Great showing tonight by The Cru. Josiah Johnson started cold then came on red hot in their 100 pt effort, 20 pt win over Southwestern.

Yeah, they definitely played well against Southwestern, though the defense will need to be improved moving forwards. We saw a little bit of that last night against SFA, but in the second half, I was really impressed by what I saw. If they had put together a first half like they did in the second, I have no doubt the score would've been much closer. Here's what Clif Carroll had to say postgame:
https://truetothecru.com/2021/11/12/umhb-mens-basketball-overcomes-early-struggles-with-notable-second-half-in-79-63-loss-to-stephen-f-austin/

[Riley Zayas]

UMHB faced two D-1 opponents this week in Stephen F. Austin and UT-Arlington and looked pretty good doing it. Braedyn Dawes was really impressive from three point range in both games, and last night, the Cru clearly were better on the offensive end. Ball movement is key and I think the defense is only getting better. Tremendous improvement from the Southwestern game to the UTA game last night defensively, in terms of confidence and aggressiveness.

https://truetothecru.com/2021/11/14/umhb-mens-hoops-finds-three-point-rhythm-in-midst-of-104-75-loss-at-ut-arlington/

[Greek Tragedy]

I'm at the Milwaukee Bucks game and on the big screen they said that the LeTourneau team was at the game. Pretty to get two wins at Carroll U and then hit the Bucks game.

[Riley Zayas]

Josiah Johnson could not be stopped last night...40 points for the junior guard...now averaging 32.0 PPG over 3 games, all wins, for the Cru this season. The ball movement from UMHB has been impressive. They have so much depth, they can play fast and go extremely hard on every play...20 different players got in for the Cru yesterday, and Gibson Hearne and Carson Hammond, who are normally starters, sat out for precautionary reasons due to minor injuries. This might be the deepest team we've ever seen in Belton, and even the guys on the end of the bench are talented...young, yes, but they have size and a good feel for the game.

https://truetothecru.com/2021/11/28/40-points-from-johnson-guides-umhb-mens-basketball-to-110-91-win-over-arlington-baptist/

[Riley Zayas]

UMHB men's basketball tips off ASC play tonight against Ozarks. Should be a great contest, and it is also the only ASC game on the slate tonight. We'll see how the No. 11 Crusaders fair in the conference opener. Tip off at 8 pm in Belton.

https://truetothecru.com/2021/12/02/conference-play-begins-for-umhb-mens-and-womens-basketball-friday-night/

[Riley Zayas]

A couple of thought's on last night's ASC showdown between No. 11 UMHB (now 1-0 ASC) and Ozarks (now 0-4 ASC)...Final: UMHB, 87, Ozarks, 67

-UMHB came out with a excellent offense, breaking Ozarks' 2-3 zone D and working the ball into the paint. That gave the Cru a dominant 19-3 lead just over 6 minutes into the contest

-Nation's No. 2 scorer Josiah Johnson (32.0 PPG entering game) was in foul trouble for much of the game, picking up 3 first-half fouls. He did score 16 but the rest of the rotation definitely stepped up, as sharpshooter Carson Hammond was also out for the second straight game.

-Ozarks' Grayson Nix is a player I see as being a First-Team or Second-Team All-ASC by the time the year is over. He hit 3 tough three-pointers last night and made several nice plays driving to the lane. 14 points for him.

-UMHB's Ty Prince finished with a triple-double...22 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists for the senior forward

Full game story here: https://truetothecru.com/2021/12/04/behind-princes-triple-double-umhb-mens-hoops-rolls-to-87-67-conference-opening-win/

[Riley Zayas]

Really like this quote from UMHB HC Clif Carroll on the Crusaders' No. 9 ranking in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll:

"It's cool being in the Top 10 in the country. It's fun for the kids, it's a good recruiting tool and it's good publicity for the school. That stuff is great, but we can't be consumed by it. We don't play for rankings, we play for championships."

The Cru battles Hardin-Simmons on Saturday in quite possibly its toughest test of the season yet, as the Cowboys received votes in the most recent Top 25 poll. Tip-off in Abilene is at 3 p.m. CT. But first, UMHB must get past McMurry, who I believe might be one of the more underrated teams in the ASC.

https://truetothecru.com/2021/12/08/umhb-mens-and-womens-basketball-prepare-for-asc-road-openers-in-abilene/

[Riley Zayas]

No. 9 UMHB men's basketball is now 5-0 following last night's 86-67 win over McMurry...

Takeaways from the game:

-Josiah Johnson continues to score from everywhere on the floor for UMHB...31 points last night for the junior. Had one stretch where he got a layup to go, and then followed that with threes on each of the Cru's next two possessions.

-McMurry revealed some weaknesses defensively for UMHB. Credit the War Hawks, who came out playing fast and held an 11-8 lead about five minutes in. The Crusaders will need to improve in their defensive play in the paint before Hardin-Simmons tomorrow.

-Speaking of HSU, that will be a huge game in the world of D3 MBB...a win for HSU would likely put the Cowboys in the Top 25 as they are 7-1, with a close loss to Trinity, and beat Concordia, a team who defeated D-I Incarnate Word, by 20+ pts last night. A win for UMHB should put the Cru up to No. 8 or even maybe No. 7 in next week's Top 25 poll.

Read the full article from last night's game: https://truetothecru.com/2021/12/10/umhb-mens-basketball-gets-past-mcmurry-on-the-road-86-67/

[Riley Zayas]

UMHB men's basketball bounces back after loss at Hardin-Simmons to take down UT-Dallas 79-69 in Belton:

https://truetothecru.com/2021/12/17/umhb-mens-basketball-earns-79-69-win-over-ut-dallas/

[Riley Zayas]

As the first part of the ASC schedule has been wrapped up, take a look at how one of the premier ASC men's hoops showdowns of the month played out, when Mary Hardin-Baylor (3-1 ASC) battled LeTourneau (4-0 ASC) on Saturday afternoon...

https://truetothecru.com/2021/12/18/11-0-overtime-run-gives-umhb-mens-hoops-91-86-win-over-letourneau/

[Riley Zayas]

To Las Vegas and the D3hoops.com Classic UMHB will go...the Cru is getting set to battle Pacific Lutheran on Wednesday and Saint Mary's Thursday. Better have your coffee ready, 11 pm CT start Wednesday and 10 pm CT start Thursday. The Crusaders are rounding into form as conference play nears. We spoke with Clif Carroll about the opportunity his team has at the D3hoops.com Classic just before UMHB left for Las Vegas.

https://truetothecru.com/2021/12/28/umhb-mens-basketball-set-for-d3hoops-com-classic-in-las-vegas/