ABILENE – The McMurry men's basketball team handed the University of Texas at Dallas its first loss of the year as McMurry held the Comets scoreless the final three minutes and twenty six seconds to top UTD, 63-61, Saturday afternoon at Kimbrell Arena.

The ASC crossover win improves McMurry to 5-4 on the year and 4-1 in conference play as McMurry remains in sole possession of first place in the ASC West Division.  Meanwhile, the Comets fall to 9-1 and 4-1.

UTD guard Brandon Greene made 1 of 2 free throws with 3:26 remaining in regulation to give the Comets a 61-58 advantage.  McMurry responded by getting to the free throw line, making free throws and playing stingy defense the rest of the way to take the victory.

After Greene's free throw, senior guard Jonathan Walker went 4 for 4 from the charity stripe (his last pair of free throws coming at the 1:13 mark to give McMurry a 62-61 advantage) on McMurry's next two possessions. 

After UTD and McMurry traded scoreless possessions, McMurry senior guard Dewayne Hall was fouled with 11 seconds remaining.  Hall made the first shot but missed the second one, which enabled the Comets one last chance to either tie the game or win it with a three.  UTD's Greene went for the win but his last-second 3-pointer hit the back of the iron and a follow-up attempt by Chris Barnes also missed as the buzzer sounded. 

Both teams were close throughout the contest as the teams were tied on 15 different occasions.  The largest lead in the game was by UTD, who led by eight points (26-18) with 3:59 remaining in the first half.  The Comets took a 30-28 lead into halftime.  
McMurry sophomore forward Richard Jones made his presence felt on the court as he finished with a double-double of 17 points (on 8 of 10 shooting from the floor) and 12 rebounds.  McMurry senior guard Jonathan Walker again led McMurry in scoring as he finished with a game-high 22 points; and senior guard Robert Moreno finished with a game-high eight assists for McMurry.