Box Score
RICHARDSON, Texas – McMurry used an 11-3 run in the final 1:41 to knock off No. 9-ranked UT-Dallas Sunday afternoon at the UTD Activity Center. Five players scored in double figures for McMurry and the team had one of its best shooting efforts of the season at 53 percent from the floor.
Eleven lead changes and seven ties in the game showed the seesaw battle between the top team in the American Southwest Conference east division and McMurry who takes a one-game lead in the ASC West Division with the win.
Chris Barnes gave UT-Dallas its last lead of the game with 2:30 to go when he made the first of two free throw attempts to give the Comets a 65-64 lead. From there,
Robert Moreno drained two free throws to give the lead back to McMurry, then
Jeremie Hart,
Ryan Boyd and
Jamal Anene all scored consecutive baskets on fast breaks. Anene's came with a bonus shot on an and-one opportunity where he converted the unconventional 3-point play to extend the lead to eight points at 73-65 with 28 seconds remaining.
Hart added two more free throws for McMurry after Scott Rodgers missed a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left for UT-Dallas. Hart's free throws capped the 11-0 run by McMurry and with six seconds left, the Comets' Brandon Green hit a 3-pointer for the final basket of the game to cut the lead to eight points.
UT-Dallas was ranked No. 9 in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com entering into the contest. The Comets are coming off an “Elite 8” appearance in last season's national tournament, but the loss Sunday dropped the home team to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in league play.
Hart led McMurry with 18 points and seven rebounds while
Ryan Boyd scored 13 points and added three steals off the bench. Tim Harrison scored 12 points and had seven rebounds while
Jamal Anene had 10 and eight respectively. Moreno scored 10 points and added six assists to pace McMurry to a 28 of 53 shooting effort. McMurry also got it done from the free-throw line in the upset. Entering the game, McMurry was a 60-percent shooting team from the charity stripe, but Sunday the team hit 16 of 20 shots from the line for a season-high in free-throw percentage.
In the losing effort, Jimmy Witten scored 19 points for UT-Dallas. His teammates Jordan Eppink, Rodgers, and Greene scored in double figures with 13, 12 and 10 respectively. The Comets entered the contest shooting 51 percent from the floor for the season, however, McMurry's defensive effort held the nationally-ranked Comets to 23 of 60 from the floor equaling a 38-percent performance.
McMurry takes several days off before taking on NCAA Division I UT-San Antonio Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. on the road.
