Box Score
BELTON, Texas – McMurry's men's basketball team made short work of foe East Texas Baptist University, 100-75, in the opening round of the American Southwest Conference tournament.

The win advanced the War Hawks (18-8) into Saturday's semifinal contest to face No. 1 seed from the ASC East, the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. UMHB (25-1) is ranked No. 5 in the nation and McMurry is the only team to have beaten the Crusaders this year, a 75-71 win in Abilene on January 21. Only a late rally by UMHB prevented a second War Hawk win over the Cru, 90-87, in Belton two weeks ago. UMHB advanced with a first-round win over Mississippi College, 75-63.

On Friday, ETBU was tied with the War Hawks for exactly 19 seconds of the game. Other than that, the Tigers spent most of the night staring at the backside of a comfortable McMurry cushion. The War Hawks built a double-digit lead within the first seven minutes of the game and carried a 15-point advantage, 46-31, going into the halftime locker room.

The second half was equally dominated by McMurry, out-scoring the ASC East Division runner-up by 10 points in that stanza.

McMurry rode the efforts of senior forward Steven Jones to the convincing victory. For the third-consecutive game, Jones had a huge game for McM head coach J.D. Isler.

Jones had game-leading totals with 27 points and 19 rebounds (16 of the defensive variety), giving him his eighth double-double of the season. It was also Jones' 23rd game with double figure points this season. He connected on 10-of-15 from the field, while also passing for six assists.

Jones was a primary reason the War Hawks hit an impressive 55 percent (38-69) from the field as a team. Meanwhile, the McMurry defense held ETBU to less than 30 percent shooting on the night. The War Hawks held a 53-43 margin in rebounding, as well.

Fellow senior Bryce Hill added 16 points to the War Hawk totals, followed by 13 each from Jaden Isler and Alfred Perez. Hill, as well as Jones, had three steals. Isler had a game-leading eight assists.

The game was also the fifth 100-point scoring game for the McMurry team this season, all coming in the second half of the year.