SAN MARCOS, Texas – After a closely contested first half, Division I member Texas State outscored McMurry by 36 points in the second half en route to knocking off McMurry, 112-70, Tuesday night at the Strahan Coliseum.
Texas State sharpshooter Brent Benson poured in 40 points to lead the Bobcats, who improve to 5-6 on the year. Benson finished the game 12 of 19 from the floor, including 9 of 15 from behind the arc. Meanwhile, the loss drops McMurry to an even 4-4 on the year.
It was a tale of two extremely different halves. In the first half, McMurry and Texas State remained close for most of the frame. Texas State led by as many as 10 points (39-29 at the 3:32 mark), but McMurry fought back to trail by one point, 42-41, with 1:23 remaining until the break. Texas State, though, closed the first half on a 7-2 run and the Bobcats took a 49-43 lead into halftime.
Benson's shooting was a large reason why the Bobcats held an advantage at the break. In the first half, Benson scored 21 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the floor, including 5 of 8 from behind the arc.
McMurry senior guard
Jonathan Walker opened the second half with a 3-pointer to cut the McMurry deficit to only three, 49-46. But the Bobcats responded by going on an overwhelming 15-1 run over the next four minutes to push their lead to 17 points, 64-47.
After that tough four-minute stretch, McMurry showed some resiliency as they cut their deficit to single digits (71-62) with 11:17 remaining in regulation. But Texas State closed the game on a 33-8 run to win the game going away.
Walker led McMurry's effort with a team-high 18 points and also a team-high four rebounds. Junior guard
Ricky Burney came off the bench to chip in with 15 points and four rebounds, and sophomore forward
Richard Jones added 14 points and four rebounds for McMurry's effort.
McMurry, who currently sits in first place in the American Southwest Conference West Division with a 3-1 conference mark, returns to ASC play on Saturday, Jan. 3, when they host UT-Dallas at KImbrell Arena. Tip time is slated for 3 p.m.
UT-Dallas is currently tied for first place in the ASC East Division with a 4-0 conference record.
