SEGUIN – McMurry's men's basketball team held off a rally after building a 19-point lead to win its fourth game in the last five. McMurry held on for a 88-79 victory Saturday afternoon at Memorial Gymnasium. DeWayne Hall became the first McMurry player to score 30 points since Alvin Stevens scored 30 on Feb. 17 last season.
Hall had 24 points in the first half and hit his first four 3-pointers to lead a first-half shooting explosion that included nine treys. McMurry was 9 of 15 in the first half from beyond the 3-point arc with Hall hitting five and Alex Robles knocking down four.
McMurry built a 42-23 lead in the first half, but the Bulldogs countered with an 18-5 run that made the score 47-41. McMurry led at the half 54-45 and was able to match the Bulldogs in the second half with 34 points apiece. TLU came within four points of the lead in the second half at 69-65, however, the Bulldogs were never able to close the gap.
Hall finished 8 of 12 from the floor, 5 of 7 from 3-point land, and 9 for 11 from the free-throw line. He also added five assists and five rebounds. Robles finished with 17, Chris Gammage matched a season-high with 13 points and Curtis Davis had 10 points off the bench.
McMurry won the rebound battle in a big way 44-27. TLU managed just five rebounds on the offensive side while McMurry had 13. Chris Beck had 11 boards off the bench to lead the charge.
McMurry finished at 51.8 percent shooting for the game and 11 of 23 from 3-point land. TLU didn't shoot as well at 42.9 percent, however, the Bulldogs kept the score close because of their free-throw shooting performance. TLU made 27 of its 33 free throws in including 21 free throws in the first half.
After a 1-7 start in American Southwest Conference play, McMurry is now 5-8 with four wins its last five. McMurry moved to 8-9 overall while Texas Lutheran, under first-year head coach Tommy Jones, fell to 1-15 overall and 1-11 in league play.
McMurry will play its fourth and fifth-straight road games Thursday and Saturday with games against Howard Payne and Sul Ross on the road next week.
