But just the fact that DeWeese was displeased with portions of the performance in a blowout victory is evidence of just how far the Crusaders have come.
UMHB shot 61 percent from the floor and led by as many as 32 points on its way to a 93-74 win over Texas Lutheran on Thursday night at Mayborn Campus Center.
The Crusaders (9-6, 7-4), who started the season by losing three straight, have won nine of 12 since and hold sole possession of second place in the ASC West Division.
What they haven’t done is prove to their coach that they’re back on track for good.
“I will not talk about turning the corner with these guys,” DeWeese said. “That’s because we’re up by more than 30, then we turn the corner and lead by only 17 - with guys on the floor that I thought should have been able to extend the lead, not make it smaller.”
The Bulldogs (2-12, 2-9) never led but hung around for a while by using a 1-2-2 zone to force 15 first-half turnovers and 20 in the second half.
UMHB overcame the giveaways with hot shooting, missing only nine attempts in the first 20 minutes en route to a 44-29 halftime lead.
Senior wing Tilmon Gaddy - whose breakaway, two-handed dunk put the Crusaders up by 21 with 1:11 left in the first half - had 10 points by intermission and finished with a game-high 22 on 7-of-9 shooting. He also had a game-high 10 rebounds.
“It felt good to be back home,” Gaddy said of UMHB’s first game at Mayborn Campus Center since Jan. 2. “Our confidence level keeps rising.”
The Crusaders had missed only 10 shot attempts all night by the 15-minute mark of the second half, when their shooting percentage reached 69 percent before dipping down to 61 in the closing minutes.
Tim Lytle was 3-for-3 from 3-point range and finished with 13 points, and Zane Johnston and Matt Caskey added 10 apiece for UMHB.
The Crusaders were 27-of-36 from the free throw line in a game that was marred by the teams’ combined 56 fouls and 69 turnovers.
Jonathan Hutton scored 15 points and Nate Walton had 14 for TLU, which shot 39 percent from the field.
UMHB trails West-leading McMurry (11-4, 10-1) by three games. After a road game Saturday against Schreiner, the Crusaders will host McMurry next Thursday night, then travel to Abilene for a rematch seven days later.
“We’re not looking ahead, but we can’t wait to play McMurry,” Gaddy said. “Even though we got off to a bad start, we still feel like we are one of the best teams in the conference.”
