ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University men's basketball battled back from a 21-point second half deficit but, in the end, came up short in the final score versus Centenary College, 86-85, at Kimbrell Arena. The loss by the War Hawks (5-16) allowed the Gents (16-9) to avenge an earlier loss to McM this season.
McMurry got off to a slow start in the first half. Centenary took the lead with 14:31 left until the intermission and led by as much as 16 points in the opening period. The Gents eventually took a 34-23 advantage in to the locker room.
All 23 of the War Hawks' first-half points came from three starters:
Connor Robinson (13),
Thierry Tchenko (6) and
Hondo Webb (4). The CC bench contributed 16 points to the Gents' total.
McM was unable to make much headway in the early portion of the second stanza, either. With 13:11 left in the game, the War Hawks trailed by their largest margin, 21 points (60-39). But the resilient McM squad kept battling, whittling away at the Centenary lead with some deft defensive play that seemed to thoroughly confuse the visitors.
Riding the hot shooting of both Robinson and Tchenko, McM was able to not only climb back into the game, but take the lead with just seven seconds left to play. Tchenko's three-ball from the right side gave McMurry an 85-84 cushion, completing a 13-minute run where the War Hawks' out-scored the Gents by a 46-24 margin.
Not wanting to commit the foul, McMurry was cautious as Centenary in-bounded the ball. Travion Kirkendoll took the pass, dribbled up court and laid the ball in with 2.4 seconds left to give CC the upper hand, 86-85.
McMurry's Aaron Getty's launched a desperation shot from beyond midcourt as time expired, but when the ball glanced off the front of the rim, so did the War Hawks' hopes for the come-from-behind win.
Both teams put on quite a shooting display in the second half. McM hit nearly 68 percent (19-28) from the field, while the Gents put in better than 65 percent (17-26) themselves. Both teams shot very well for the game, with CC at 51.8 percent (29-56) and McM at 55.8 percent (29-52) from the floor.
Robinson had another of his monster games, posting his 11th double-double of the year with a 34-point, 11 rebound game. Robinson connected on 12-of-18 from the field and made good on 10-of-11 free throws.
It was Robinson's 14th-straight game with double figures and 18th overall. Robinson has also tallied 30-plus points seven times in 2014-15 and four times in the last six games. He has feasted on Centenary in the two meetings, combining for 71 points and 32 rebounds against the SCAC regular season champions.
Tchenko tallied a career-high 23 points, making good on 8-of-11 field goals and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. He was also 5-for-5 from the free throw line, while also chipping in four assists and three steals.
Webb finished the night with eight points, seven rebounds and a game-leading five assists. Webb also made three steals and had three blocked shots.
Gabriel Chacon and Gettys each booked six points.
