SPOKANE, Wash. – Mary Hardin-Baylor dominated the second half on the way to a 93-74 win over Whitworth in the final game of the Quality Inn Oakwood Classic on Wednesday night in the Whitworth Fieldhouse.

Tournament MVP Josiah Johnson scored 32 points for the Crusaders (7-3), who won their fourth straight game and ended the Pirates' (5-5) 23-game home court winning streak.

A tightly-contested first half featured six ties and ten lead changes before UMHB took a 44-42 lead into the locker rooms.  Whitworth led 8-2 in the early going and the Crusaders led by six (23-17) at the halfway point.  The Pirates took a lead when Jerry Twenge's sixth three-pointer of the first half made it 35-32.  UMHB scored seven straight points to go back in front. Twenge had 20 points in the first half, while Johnson scored 18 in the opening period.

JT McDermott opened the second half with a three-pointer for Whitworth, but it would be the Pirates' final lead of the game.  The Crusaders answered with nine straight points, including consecutive baskets by Luke Feely, to stake a 53-45 lead.  Whitworth continued to shoot three-pointers well, getting back within 53-51 on Twenge's seventh trey of the game. 

While the Bucs shot well enough from three-point range for the first 30 minutes, UMHB got easy baskets throughout the game.  The Crusaders shot better than 60% from the field in both halves.  The Cru also forced 20 Pirate turnovers in the game, leading to 27 points off those turnovers.  Leading 59-54, UMHB scored eight straight to open their first double-digit lead and went up 77-57 on a three-point play by Ty Prince with 8:33 to play.  Another Prince basket gave the Crusaders their largest lead of the game at 89-61.

Twenge finished with a career-high 25 points, but was the only Whitworth player in double figures.  The Pirates made 45% from the field and 40.5% (15-37) from beyond the arc. 

Johnson was 9-16 from the floor and 11-11 from the free throw line for the Crusaders.  Prince added 24 points and eight boards.  UMHB finished 36-58 (62%) from the field and 17-20 (85%) at the free throw line.

Saint John's defeated Linfield 70-55 in Wednesday's first game behind 19 points and seven assists by Ryan Thissen.

The 2022 Quality Inn Oakwood Classic All-Tournament team:

MVP – Josiah Johnson, G (UMHB)
Ty Prince, W (UMHB)
Jerry Twenge, G (Whitworth)
Ryan Thissen, W (SJU)
Trey Bryan, G (Linfield)