Box Score

ABILENE, Texas - Jeremie Hart scored the game-winning bucket with 6.4 seconds remaining and McMurry survived a tight game with a 74-72 win over Texas Lutheran Thursday night at Kimbrell Arena. Robert Moreno stole the ball from TLU's Michael Flores with 14 seconds ago, managed a cross-court pass which was deflected, but Hart recovered the ball and scored the contested jumper in the paint for the win.

The Bulldogs heaved a 35-foot prayer as time expired, but the 3-point shot did not draw iron and McMurry kept narrow hopes alive of sharing an American Southwest Conference West Division title. Sul Ross State nearly upset Mary Hardin-Baylor on its home floor Thursday night, but instead the Crusaders took a 68-65 win and held on to its one-game lead in the west division.

McMurry will need to win its season finale against Schreiner Saturday afternoon and Mary Hardin-Baylor would need to lose to Howard Payne Saturday in order for McMurry to tie with UMHB with a 16-5 record. UMHB did establish home-court advantage Thursday night regardless of either McMurry or its own outcome Saturday. The Crusaders swept the season series with McMurry and would win the tie breaker allowing them to play host to the ASC postseason tournament Feb. 24-26.

Thursday night, TLU came out of the gates early and built an 11-point first-half lead. Later in the first frame, Kevin Simmons hit a 3-pointer to make the score 22-12 in favor of the Bulldogs. However, McMurry responded with a 13-0 run to gain a 25-22 advantage. TLU countered and took a 38-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Neither team would give in the second half, but McMurry did manage a six-point lead with 5:53 remaining thanks to a pair of Steven Luckey free throws that made the score 67-61. From there it was back-and-forth until Isaac William's layup with 1:37 to go knotted the score at 72.

McMurry's Jamal Anene missed a jump shot with 56 seconds left with the shot clock winding down, got his own rebound on a tie-ball with one second left on the shot clock. Luckey's quick 3-point attempt after the inbounds missed. TLU burned 23 seconds off the clock before Luckey used McMurry's sixth team foul with 25 seconds left.

The Bulldogs' Flores then attempted to set up an offensive play to win the game, however, Moreno stripped the ball away with 14 seconds left tossed the ball down court, and Hart took care of the rest.

Hart finished with 13 points while Luckey and Ryan Boyd each had 17 points. Anene scored 12 and grabbed eight rebounds while Boyd had eight boards as well. Hart finished with a game-high six assists and three steals.

McMurry shot 44 percent from the floor and hit five of its six 3-pointers in the second half. McMurry finished 20 of 26 from the free-throw line.

TLU shot 49 percent from the floor and turned the ball over three fewer times than McMurry, but just couldn't come up with the win. The Bulldogs beat McMurry on their home floor Jan. 14, but Thursday's loss dropped the team to 6-18 overall and 4-16 in league play. Henry Flores led the Bulldogs with 18 points in the losing effort.

McMurry head coach Ron Holmes will coach his final game at Kimbrell Arena Saturday against Schreiner at 3 p.m. Holmes announced he would step down following this season after 20 years as head coach. McMurry will enter Saturday's contest with a 17-7 overall record and 15-5 league record.