ABILENE - Mary Hardin-Baylor already knew it had a defense that could dominate things along with an offense that is dangerous and at the same time inconsistent.

But the Crusaders also proved two other points Saturday afternoon. One is that they learned their lesson from last year; the other is that they put together a sloppy performance and still beat the American Southwest Conference bottom-feeders.

In a game that early on had an eerie resemblance to last season