TYLER, Texas – McMurry University Men's Basketball used a dominating second half to pull away from UT Tyler on the road, defeating the Patriots 86-68 Wednesday night.

Leading 41-35 at the break, the War Hawks (4-5) outscored the Patriots (3-3) 45-33 in the second half. Junior forward Mike Williams Jr. led the way, posting a double-double on 21 points and 11 rebounds. Williams shot 10-for-18 from the field while dishing out a team-high four assists to go along with one steal.

McMurry slowly built their lead into double-digits in the second half, and it would remain that way for the final 12 minutes. The War Hawks extended the lead to as many as 23 at 82-59 after a 10-0 spanning just over three minutes. Senior guard Shakur Smith connected on two of his career-high six three pointers en route to a career-high 18 points.

The War Hawks took their first lead of the night with just under six minutes remaining in the first half, and took the lead for good on a layup by Williams just three minutes later.

Smith's 6-of-9 from beyond the arc accounted for nearly half of the War Hawks' 13 triples, as McMurry shot 48.1 percent from the three-point line. McMurry shot 44.1 percent from the field overall.

The War Hawks owned the glass, outrebounding the Patriots 43-33. McMurry also had the advantage in points in the paint and second chance points.

Defensively, the War Hawks had one of their best performances of the season. They held the Patriots to just 26.7 percent from behind the arc, their best mark of the season. The Patriots' 35.4 percent shooting from the floor was the best mark by the War Hawks since the season-opening win at UW-Stout.

Junior guards Zacc Carter and Trevin Ramirez also finished in double figures, with Carter chipping in 16 points and Ramirez 11. Carter was 2-of-2 from three-point range and knocked down all four of this free throw attempts.

McMurry will have the next two weeks off before a rematch at Texas Lutheran University December 20.