ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University men's basketball will play its final home game of the calendar year on Thursday, Dec. 10, as the War Hawks welcome East Texas Baptist to Kimbrell Arena for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
On Saturday, the War Hawks will travel across town to play NCAA DI opponent Abilene Christian in an exhibition. Tip-off from the Teague Special Events Center is set for 1 p.m.
Live stats and live video will be available for both games.
Due to the rise of COVID-19 cases in Abilene this month, Thursday's home game will be played without fans inside the arena. Players, coaches and essential game day personnel will be the only people in attendance, adhering to recommended masking and social distancing guidelines where possible.
The game day protocols will be re-evaluated prior to McMurry's next home men's basketball game on Jan. 21, 2021 against Concordia-Texas.
In similar fashion, attendance for Saturday's game at ACU is restricted to season ticket holders and team pass list members. No walk up or single game ticket sales will be available for fans. For more information, click here.
FOLLOW ALONG
Thursday: LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO
Saturday: LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO
RECORDS
McM: 0-3, 0-0 ASC
ETBU: 3-1, 0-0 ASC
ACU: 5-0, 0-0 Southland
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT – The War Hawks played with seven scholar-athletes at Hardin-Simmons last Saturday, battling to the finish in a 75-60 setback inside the Mabee Complex across town. In the effort, junior forward DJ Worrell had his first career double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Freshman guard Matt Pena led the team with 36 minutes off the bench and had a team-best 18 points.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS – East Texas Baptist started 3-0 in the month of November with wins at Piedmont College (78-70) and at home against Howard Payne (87-68) and Sul Ross State (80-64). Their most recent game came this past Tuesday in Mississippi against Covenant College (GA) – resulting in an 81-76 loss. ETBU averages 80.3 points per game and are shooting 47.7 percent from the field for the season. The Tigers are led by Charlie Cochran at 19.5 PPG and Christopher Haynes at 16.5 PPG.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ETBU – McMurry owns a 15-13 advantage in the all-time series, dating back to the first matchup in the 1949-50 season. The last seven games have all been won by double-digit margins, with ETBU winning four and McMurry winning three. ETBU has won the last three matchups, with McMurry's last win over the Tigers coming in 2016-17. The two sides have also met three times in postseason play, with McMurry winning two of the three.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS – ACU is off to a stellar 5-0 start with impressive wins against the likes of East Tennessee State and Austin Peay and will put that streak on the line against No. 17 Texas Tech today at 6 p.m. The Wildcats are defensive-minded, holding opponents to just over 55.0 points per game and outscoring DI opponents by an average of 16.0 PPG. Spreading the wealth, Kolton Kohl leads the way with 11.4 PPG, followed by eight other players with at least 5.2 PPG.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ACU – Though Saturday's exhibition will not count against McMurry's record, ACU holds the 61-25 advantage in the all-time series. Outside of playing each other in 2018-19, this will be the first meeting between the teams since the 1974-75 season. McMurry won that contest, 75-63.
MINOR HAS BEEN MAJOR – Junior point guard Remy Minor has been McMurry's top consistent player through three contests, averaging nearly 35 minutes per game, 16.0 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game. Minor's season high for scoring came against Mary Hardin-Baylor with 22 points, as he shot 9-18 from the floor. Minor also found his teammates more against Hardin-Simmons, collecting five assists for a season high.
EL PASO CONNECTION – The War Hawks have two players from El Paso, Texas, and both produced well against Hardin-Simmons on Saturday. Coming off the bench, freshman Matt Pena led the team with 18 points, shooting 4-7 from behind the arc. Pena's shooting was complimented well by fellow West Texan DJ Worrell, as the junior transfer forward had 15 points and 15 rebounds. His rebound total more than doubled every other player from either team.
RETURNING DEPTH – Two returning guards – sophomores Shaydon Campbell and Rob Charles – are set to make their season debuts Thursday night. Campbell and Charles are expected to add depth to the guard rotation, as Campbell played in 24 games last season and averaged just over 11 minutes per game last year. Charles appeared in eight games last year and is expected to have a larger role as a sophomore.
CONFERENCE PLAY? – McMurry will play its fourth conference opponent on Thursday, but the official American Southwest Conference season will begin on January 7, 2021. The first four games of the year will not count toward the ASC record. There are 16 official conference games on the schedule this year.
BEHIND THE ARC – The War Hawks are tied for second in the American Southwest Conference with 8.0 three-pointers made per game, trailing only Mary Hardin-Baylor at 13.0. Seven of the 12 teams in the conference have played so far.
BLOCK PARTY – McMurry currently ranks third in the ASC in blocked shots with seven, led by Worrell with three rejections and Devon Webb with two. Four of the seven blocked shots came against HSU.
CERNY RETURNS – McM Head Coach Zach Pickelman added a familiar face to his coaching staff this year, as Chris Cerny joined as a student assistant coach. Cerny won a pair of ASC titles as a player at McMurry from 2010-12 and finished his career with two more seasons in 2014-16, averaging 8.8 PPG as a senior. Cerny and sixth year assistant Rob Yeatts completes this year's coaching staff, with Yeatts playing alongside Pickelman at HSU in the late 2000s.
ALL-TIME RECORD – McMurry has played 2,246 games as a program, dating back to its first year as a college in 1923. The War Hawks hold a 1148-1098 all-time record for a 51.1 win percentage.
