ABILENE, Texas – The McMurry University men's basketball team has completed the non-conference portion of its schedule and will open American Southwest Conference play Thursday night, Jan. 7 against East Texas Baptist in Marshall.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. inside Ornelas Gym. On Saturday, the War Hawks will continue their road swing at LeTourneau with tip-off set for 3 p.m. against the defending ASC champions.
East Texas Baptist released its protocols for Thursday's game and will only admit members of the home and visiting pass lists, ETBU students, faculty and staff, as well as game day personnel. All others will not receive admittance to the game.
LeTourneau will also have a limited capacity of 100 spectators for the games on Saturday and will have a limited number of tickets available to the general public until at capacity. LETU will also use a pass list for the competing programs.
Live stats and live video will be available for both games.
FOLLOW ALONG
ETBU: LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO
LETU: LIVE STATS l LIVE VIDEO
RECORDS
McM: 0-4, 0-0 ASC
ETBU: 5-3, 0-0 ASC
LETU: 2-0, 0-0 ASC
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT – The War Hawks had a pair of exhibition games to end 2020 and begin 2021, taking on NCAA DI opponent Incarnate Word in San Antonio. Despite a pair of losses, McMurry showed promise with a tight first half in the first game. There were eight lead changes, as the War Hawks led eight of the first 12 minutes. All 13 players that dressed entered the contest and scored at least one basket, as the 71 points marked the second-highest scoring performance of the season.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS – East Texas Baptist owns a 5-3 record heading into the season opener. The Tigers took a close loss to UMHB on Jan. 2, falling 75-73 despite a valiant comeback down 11 with three minutes to go. ETBU is currently the best field goal shooting team in the ASC, making a league-high 222 buckets for a .468 shooting percentage. The Tigers are led by Christopher Haynes at 16.4 PPG and Charlie Cochran at 14.9 PPG. Both players average over five rebounds per contest with starts in all eight games.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ETBU – McMurry possesses a slim 15-14 advantage in the all-time series, dating back to the first matchup in the 1949-50 season. The last eight games have all been won by double-digit margins, with ETBU winning five and McMurry winning three. ETBU has won the last four 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 YELLOWJACKETS – LeTourneau enters this season as the defending American Southwest Conference champions, finishing with a 23-6 record last year. The YellowJackets have played two official games so far with wins over Howard Payne (100-63) and Mary Hardin-Baylor (84-67). LETU has played in six exhibitions games, five of which were against higher level opponents. In two games, Andrew Eberhardt has been the main source of offense with 29.0 PPG on 11 three-point baskets and a 22-44 showing from the field. John Argue is currently averaging a double-double at 17.0 PPG and 12.0 RPG through two contests.
SERIES HISTORY VS. LETU – McMurry is 18-7 against LeTourneau all-time, dating back to the 1991-92 season. The War Hawks won last year's contest in dramatic fashion, as junior Colin Taylor sank the go-ahead three-pointer in a 91-86 win over the eventual-ASC Champions. Senior Dedrick Berry Jr. scored 26 points in that game – his birthday – to help the team snap a four-game skid against the YellowJackets.
WHERE THE SEASON COUNTS – McMurry has played four conference opponents in regular season games so far, 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.
NO MINOR PLAYER – Junior transfer Remy Minor has been McMurry's impact player this season, averaging a team-leading 17.0 PPG. Minor is also leading the team with 33.5 minutes per contest, which ranks fourth in the American Southwest Conference. Minor has scored double-digits in every game so far, including 22 at home against Mary Hardin-Baylor and 20 at home against ETBU.
TOUGH SCHEDULING – McMurry has not been afraid to challenge tough opponents this season with four NCAA DI exhibitions on the original schedule. Furthermore, the War Hawks faced four of the ASC's best teams in non-conference action. Three of the four have winning records, while the other, Sul Ross State, sits at .500 with a 3-3 record.
CERNY RETURNS – 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 2,247 games as a program, dating back to its first year as a college in 1923. The War Hawks hold a 1148-1099 all-time record for a 51.1 win percentage.
