NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Four months into a campaign filled with second-half rallies, No. 17 Mary Hardin-Baylor couldn’t muster another comeback to extend its season.

BELTON — Luke Feely does the dirty work for Mary Hardin-Baylor, banging bodies with the big guys around the basket to score, pull down rebounds and contest shots. That skill set is what makes him a key cog in the Crusaders’ success.

BELTON — In the final second of what had been a riveting night at Mayborn Campus Center, Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Josiah Johnson delivered an ending befitting the game.

BELTON — Schreiner threw everything it had at No. 17 Mary Hardin-Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday night, pouring in 13 3-pointers and putting the Crusaders on their heels as the closing stretch approached.

BELTON — Kyle Wright spent his high school career and one year at Texas A&M-Texarkana trying to be the top scorer on the floor, and then he came to Mary Hardin-Baylor and had a decision to make.

Should scoring continue to be his primary focus? Or, should he rebuild himself into a defensive stalwart and glue guy for a UMHB program already stocked with scorers?

The 5-foot-10 lightning-quick guard eventually chose the latter, and he and the Crusaders have been the better for it.

BELTON — Three days after the disappointment of falling in the semifinals of its conference tournament, Mary Hardin-Baylor’s spirits received a big boost Monday when it received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

And as an added bonus, the Crusaders will be on their home floor for the event’s opening weekend for the second straight year.

BELTON — Mary Hardin-Baylor’s bid to win the American Southwest Conference tournament title on its home floor for a second straight year came to a crashing halt Friday night, when fourth-seeded Hardin-Simmons took advantage of the Crusaders’ cold shooting to stun top-seeded UMHB 78-71 in a s…

BELTON — Mary Hardin-Baylor won the American Southwest Conference tournament on its home floor last year and is brimming with confidence while facing the same opportunity this weekend.

But as Crusaders coach Clif Carroll knows, too much of a good thing isn’t always, well, good.

BELTON — In a contest filled with runs, it was third-seeded Mary Hardin-Baylor that went on the game-deciding surge in the fourth quarter to knock out sixth-seeded Concordia Texas 78-64 on Tuesday night at Mayborn Campus Center in a first-round game of the women’s American Southwest Conferen…

BELTON — With Ozarks pouring in 3-pointers and threatening to shoot Mary Hardin-Baylor out of the gym in the first half Saturday, the Crusaders flipped the ignition switch, quickly kicked into high gear and motored away from the Eagles.

BELTON — Facing an Ozarks team that can look out of control at times, Mary Hardin-Baylor didn’t get caught up in its opponent’s helter-skelter style of play and shut down the Eagles on Saturday afternoon for its third consecutive victory.

BELTON — With the goal of solidifying positioning for their league tournaments, Mary Hardin-Baylor teams went 2-for-2 on that mission Thursday night at Mayborn Campus Center, where UMHB never trailed en route to a 50-43 victory over Texas-Dallas in the women’s game before the 22nd-ranked Cru…