BELTON, Texas – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas showed little rust from semester finals and a 12-day break as they defeated Mary Hardin–Baylor 87-77 Thursday.

UST's Cameron Gims (Cypress, Texas/Cy-Fair HS) turned in a double-double performance to lead the Celts, scoring 27 points and pulling in 10 rebounds. The sophomore shot 9-of-15 from the floor and drained seven out of his 13 3-point attempts, while also tallying five steals.

Nathan Ghavidel (Boerne, Texas/Champion HS) came off the UST bench to score 13 points, while Nathan Thormaehlen (Katy, Texas/Katy HS) chipped in 11 points. Kennard Robinson (Houston, Texas/Sam Houston MSTC) scored eight points, handed out six assists, and recorded four steals for the Celts.

With the win, the Celts maintained their undefeated record as they improved to 5-0 in 2019-20.

The Celts trailed 51-36 at halftime but got out to a quick start in the second half as Gims knocked down two 3-pointers in the first two minutes to cut UMHB's lead to nine.

After a UMHB basket with 17:50 remaining in the second half, the Celts went on a 17-1 run over the next six and a half minutes to take 59-54 lead. Robinson scored five points during the run while Thormaehlen scored four over that stretch, capping the run with a pair of free throws with 11:27 remaining in the half.

The Celts and Cru would battle over the next several minutes before UST went on an 11-3 run between the 6:10 and 4:05 marks of the half. That stretch turned a one-point advantage into an 80-71 lead for the Celts; UMHB would get no closer than six points for the rest of the game.

UST shot 46 percent (31 of 67) from the floor during the game and made 44 percent (16 of 36) of their 3-point tries. The Celts scored 51 points in the second half.

The Celts return to action Monday, Dec. 16, when they host Howard Payne at UST's Jerabeck Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.