Box Score

PINEVILLE, La. - The lead changed 10 times in the second half, but McMurry was able to take and hold the lead for the final four minutes of the ball game and went on to defeat Louisiana College 74-70 Saturday afternoon at the H.O. West Field House in the American Southwest Conference opener for both teams.

Five players scored in double figures for McMurry with Jeremie Hart's 18 points leading leading the way. Steven Luckey scored 10 points off the bench and had two key buckets in the final four minutes. Ricky Burney had a dozen points while Jamal Anene had 10 as did Robert Moreno who also added a game-high seven assists and five steals.

McMurry took a 32-30 lead at halftime after leading by as many as nine in the first period. Then, in the second half, behind a 53 percent shooting effort int he second half, the Wildcats fought back and took the lead several times in the final half. However, with four minutes to play, McMurry built its lead back to eight points and held on through some key free throws.

Chukwuma Ekeh hit two-straight shots from the post to cut the McMurry lead to 72-20 with just under one minute to play. The Wildcats fouled Robert Moreno with 13 seconds to play, he responded by hitting two free throws, and neither team scored for the remainder of the contest.

McMurry shot 47 percent from the floor for the contest hitting 28 of 60 shots from the floor. The team was 4 of 15 from beyond the 3-point arc and 14 of 22 from the free-throw line. The Wildcats finished 47 percent from the floor was well hitting 27 of 58 shots. LC hit 6 of 22 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc and the Wildcats were 10-14 from the line.

McMurry moved to 3-1 on the season and starts league play with a 1-0 record. Louisiana College fell to 0-2 on the year and 0-1 in conference play.