ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Men's Basketball will play one opponent for the third time this season – and another for the first time – this week with an American Southwest Conference road swing at Mary Hardin-Baylor and Concordia Texas on Jan. 28-30.
The War Hawks will open the trip Thursday night in Belton against UMHB. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. This will be the third matchup of the season series, with the Cru taking the first two contests in Abilene.
On Saturday, McMurry will see a fresh opponent as it treks to Austin to face Concordia Texas. Tip-off for that game is set for 3 p.m. The two sides were scheduled to meet last Thursday in Abilene, but COVID-19 complications forced a cancelation.
Both host teams will provide live stats and live video for their games. UMHB will be allowing fans at 50 percent capacity with free admission. Mask wearing and social distancing is required.
Concordia Texas is not allowing fans at this time.
FOLLOW ALONG
UMHB: STATS l VIDEO l SPECTATOR INFO
CTX: STATS l VIDEO
RECORDS
McM: 1-8, 1-4 ASC
UMHB: 7-3, 4-0 ASC
CTX: 1-2, 0-2 ASC
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT – The War Hawks could not match the offensive fire power of UMHB last Saturday, falling 94-66 inside Kimbrell Arena. McMurry had three double-digit scorers in the effort, including Matt Pena with 17 points, Remi Minor with 13 and Jordan Sherman with 10. The Cru also took the first game of the series in a tight, high-scoring affair back in November, 94-84. McMurry will look to turn the tide in game three.
SCOUTING THE CRU – So far, UMHB has won when it counts, wielding a 7-3 overall record and a 4-0 mark in conference play. All three of the Cru's non-conference losses have been against ASC teams in Sul Ross State, LeTourneau and Concordia Texas. Conference wins – outside of McM – include Louisiana College (74-71), Belhaven (109-91) and Hardin-Simmons (77-67). Josiah Johnson – a four-time ASC Player of the Week this season – leads the conference with an astonishing 30.0 points per game in 10 contests. Johnson has six games this year where he has scored at least 30 points.
SERIES HISTORY VS. UMHB – McMurry leads the all-time series with a 34-31 record. The Cru have won four of the last six games, but McMurry has two key victories in that span. McMurry's last win over UMHB came on Jan. 30, 2020, where the War Hawks won a thrilling 111-109 overtime game at Kimbrell Arena. McMurry's last win in Belton came on Jan. 12, 2019 in a 75-72 victory.
SCOUTING THE TORNADOS – Concordia has played only three games this season and bring a 1-2 record into the weekend. Their lone win came at UMHB in non-conference play, 106-101. In conference play, Concordia owns a pair of losses to Belhaven (102-98) and Louisiana College (73-62) in two completely different-paced matchups. The Tornados are known for their press defense and high-paced offense, led by Trevon Hester with 18.3 points per game in three starts. Six players average double-digit scoring for CTX.
SERIES HISTORY VS. CTX – McMurry possesses a 29-13 advantage in the all-time series, dating back to 1980. The Tornados swept the season series last year and will look for their third straight win over McMurry. The War Hawks last defeated Concordia on Feb. 2, 2019 in Kimbrell Arena. The Maroon and White seek their first win in Austin since 2014 on Saturday.
NO MINOR PLAYER – Junior transfer Remy Minor has been the offensive spark plug this season, starting all nine games and averaging a team-best 14.4 points per game. He also leads the way in minutes with 33.6 per contest and in assists with 28 total.
BLOCK PARTY – McMurry has two of the top five block leaders in the conference manning the front court, as junior DJ Worrell has nine blocks and freshman Michael Imariagbe has seven blocks this season. Worrell and Imariagbe both average around one block per contest. As a team, McM ranks fourth in the league with 3.1 blocked shots per game.
TRIP-PENA – Freshman Matt Pena is the team's biggest three-point threat this season, shooting 21 of 46 from behind the arc. He ranks eighth in the ASC for three-point shooting percentage (45.7) and is 10th in three-pointers made per game (2.3).
ASC ROUNDUP – McMurry currently sits fourth in the West Division with a 1-4 conference record ahead of Concordia Texas (0-2) and Howard Payne (0-5). UMHB leads the West at 4-0, followed by Sul Ross State (4-2) and Hardin-Simmons (3-2).
In the East, Louisiana College leads the way with a 4-1 conference record, followed by ETBU (3-2), Belhaven (2-2), UT Dallas (1-1), LeTourneau (1-1) and Ozarks (0-1).
ALL-TIME RECORD – McMurry has played 2,252 games as a program, dating back to its first year as a college in 1923. The War Hawks hold a 1149-1103 all-time record for a 51.0 win percentage.
