MARSHALL, Texas – McMurry University Men's Basketball nearly pulled off a pivotal road win at East Texas Baptist to open American Southwest Conference play on Thursday night, but a turnover in the final 19 seconds helped the Tigers hold off the War Hawks in Marshall, Texas, 77-72.
The War Hawks (0-5, 0-1 ASC) trailed 31-14 with eight minutes to go in the first half, but went on a 24-8 run to pull within two at the break. That same momentum carried into a back-and-forth second half that saw eight lead changes and seven tie scores.
McMurry took its first lead of the second half at the 14:24 mark with an and-one fast break lay-up by Michael Imariagbe, moving the score to 49-48. The converted free throw made it a two-point game.
Trailing 70-67 later in the game, sophomore guard Shaydon Campbell hit a clutch three pointer to silence the building and tie the contest. Things got even tighter with under a minute to go, as ETBU possessed a 72-70 lead. Freshman Matt Pena drilled a turnaround jumper from the elbow to tie the game in dramatic fashion.
A pair of free throws at the other end helped ETBU regain a 74-72 lead with 19.3 remaining. An unfortunate turnover at the other end allowed the Tigers to ice the game and stop the threat.
Two War Hawks finished with double-doubles tonight, led by junior DJ Worrell with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Imariagbe had 17 points and 10 rebounds, helping McMurry's first half run with 12 first half points. Both point totals were season highs.
ETBU (6-3, 1-0) maintained their lead with strong free throw shooting, finishing 28-36 for the game. McMurry shot 12-20 from the line but hung around with a 27-64 showing from the field (42.2 percent).
Junior Jordan Sherman was the spark early in the game, making seven of the team's first 12 points. He went on to finish with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Junior point guard Remy Minor facilitated the offense with four assists and five points, while also turning in a team-best +9 plus-minus rating.
The War Hawks will look to shake off the heartbreaker with a quick, two-day turnaround, as the team faces LeTourneau on Saturday at 3 p.m. in Longview, Texas. To view LeTourneau's game day protocols, click here.
