(From HSU SID Chad Grubbs)
CLINTON, Miss. - Hardin-Simmons' men's basketball team made school history by advancing to the finals of the American Southwest Conference Tournament for the first time, with a 71-67 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday afternoon in Clinton, Miss.
It was a total team effort for the Cowboys as the Cowboys went to its bench early and often and every player that played contributed.
"We had a great team effort." said HSU head coach Dylan Howard. "The bench guys came in and were key for us. Mike Dinkins played the way we expect out of him. I am so proud of our effort and we are going after that first ASC title tomorrow."
Dinkins scored 18 points in the first half and kept the Cowboys in striking range, as the Cowboys trailed only 37-33 at halftime. HSU trailed 19-11 early, but Dinkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 19-17. The Crusaders got the lead back to six at 35-29. In the second half a Neiman Ford 3-pointer made it 40-33, the largest lead of the second half for the Crusaders.
HSU trailed 51-46, but went on a 14-5 run to take a 60-56 lead. In the run, Dinkins hit a 3-pointer, Pickelman a running jumper and a Charlie Pannell 3-pointer gave the Cowboys the lead for the first time in the second half at 54-53. Steven Luckey hit a jumper and Dan Jean had a 3-point play and hit another free throw.
HSU lead 66-62 with 1:15 to play after a pair of Pickelman free throws. Zane Johnston hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 67-65 with :35 seconds to play. Luckey then hit a pair of free throws with :30 to play to make it 69-65. Guyden then hit a long 2-pointer to make it 69-67 and then Brackett and Luckey split free throws in the final :17 seconds to seal the game.
Dinkins led the Cowboys with 22 points, Pickelman had 13 and Dan Jean added 10. Kevin Guyden had 22 points, but was just 4-for-11 in the second half. He was hounded by the trio of James Peters, Dinkins and Trent Martin. Neiman Ford had 17 points and Johnston had 11 points.
HSU improved to 16-11 on the season and UMHB fell to 22-5 on the season. HSU will play in the final at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The game can be heard on KSLI 1280-AM and on the Internet at www.hsuathletics.com.
