ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University men's basketball played its first of four NCAA DI games on Saturday, falling to No. 22 Abilene Christian by a final of 83-46 in an exhibition across town at the Teague Special Events Center.
The War Hawks (0-4) hung tight with a strong defensive effort in the first half, heading to the locker room trailing 29-24. A big part of that close score was perimeter defense, as ACU (6-1) shot 0-13 from downtown in the first half.
In the first half surge, McMurry used a 7-0 run to take its first lead of the game – 9-8 – with 13:43 to go until halftime. After a pair of stops converted to layups at the other end, freshman guard Matt Pena would hit the go-ahead three-pointer to take the lead.
After regaining the lead, the Wildcats would take over in the second half, opening on a 20-0 run and never looking back. ACU entered today's contest ranked No. 22 in the NCAA Mid Major Poll.
Twelve players earned valuable game experience for the War Hawks, nine of which scored at least once in the contest. Junior guard Remy Minor led the team with 10 points, while senior guard Landen Stephens finished with eight. Both players had a pair of treys.
Junior forward DJ Worrell was McMurry's leading rebounder, grabbing 10 boards to go with six points.
McMurry's next contest is scheduled for next Saturday, Dec. 19 at 4 p.m. against another NCAA DI opponent, Tarleton State, in Stephenville, Texas. This road contest will also be an exhibition for McMurry.
