MARSHALL, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons University men’s basketball teams advance to the American Southwest Conference Championship game after semifinal wins on Friday afternoon in Marshall.

Mary Hardin-Baylor 97, LeTourneau 89 | Box Score

The first semifinal match started basket-for-basket until LeTourneau used a trio of three-pointers to pull away 11-5 at the 17:13 mark. The YellowJackets continued with a 15-8 run to extend their lead to 11. The Cru began to fight back after the media timeout, cutting the margin to two at the 5:58 mark, led by Eli Beard with nine points in the run. The contest proceeded even until the UMHB took their first lead on an 11-2 run in the final three minutes, closing the half ahead 51-46.

Early back-to-back three-pointers from Deonte Jackson cut the margin to two to start the second half. The Cru got their lead as large as eight at the 17:18 mark, but the YellowJackets used six unanswered points to make it a one-point game before taking back a 66-65 lead at the 12:34 mark. UMHB responded with a 10-point run to go up 78-69 with eight minutes remaining.

A pair of 3-pointers by LETU’s Jackson Mayes cut the gap back to two at the 4:21 mark. Another shot behind the arc from Caedmon Liebengood brought the YellowJackets within one. UMHB’s Eli Beard responded with five straight points to go up by six before the Cru secured the 97-89 win with free throws in the final minute.

Eli Beard broke the ASC Men’s Basketball Tournament Record for points in a semifinal game and points in a single game as he led the Cru to victory with 44 points while shooting 68 percent from the field. Ryan Pondant led UMHB with 10 rebounds and six assists.

LeTourneau’s Deonte Jackson led the YellowJackets with 26 points while Jackson Mayes recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Hardin-Simmons 101, Howard Payne 75 | Box Score

Hardin-Simmons jumped to a quick 12-4 lead during the first four minutes of action. A six-point run from Howard Payne cut the margin to two. The Cowboys brought their lead back to eight at the 12:27 mark, but the Yellow Jackets quickly responded with their own five-point run to make it a 20-17 contest. Hardin-Simmons closed first half play ahead 47-36 after a final 14-5 run led by Will Bartoszek with seven points.

The Yellow Jackets came out fighting to start the second half with five points from Ben Phillip. Hardin-Simmons pulled away again 56-43 at the 16:57 mark with a 7-2 run. Another 10-3 run followed by an 11-2 run from the Cowboys allowed them to pull ahead by 20 with five minutes left on the clock. The Yellow Jackets put up eight more points, but the Cowboys sealed the win with a trio of final layups.

Chris Bryant led the Cowboys as he recorded a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Austin Brewer added 22 points and nine rebounds for Hardin-Simmons. Asher Fleming hit double-digits in rebounds with 10 total. Trey Jackson led the Yellow Jackets with 18 points while Riley Fornerette added 15.

No. 1 Hardin-Simmons and No. 3 Mary Hardin-Baylor will face in the ASC Championship on Saturday, March 1^st at 2:00 p.m. in Marshall.