ABILENE, Texas – In a rematch from Thursday night, McMurry Men's Basketball nearly settled the score with crosstown rival Hardin-Simmons, but the Cowboys would rally late to win 81-71 in American Southwest Conference action at Kimbrell Arena.

McMurry (4-14, 4-9 ASC) came out with something to prove after Thursday's one-sided loss on the road, taking an early 16-7 lead with early scoring from freshman Michael Imariagbe. The freshman post highlighted this early run with an alley-oop slam dished by junior Remy Minor.

The largest lead for McMurry ended up being nine point, which was matched with 5:54 to go in the half at 27-18. A 7-0 run brought HSU (15-5, 10-3 ASC) within four and McMurry carried a three-point lead into the break.

The Cowboys finally took the lead with 6:58 to go in the contest on a three-pointer by Chase Cobb, but McMurry kept pace over the next two minutes.

After inching away a bit late, HSU sank 13 of its final 14 free throws for the dagger. Minor nailed a pair of clutch triples to keep McMurry's hopes alive, but it wasn't enough to overcome the late free throws.

Minor scored 23 points – three short of his career high – and added six assists, three rebounds and three steals for a strong game. Minor also shot 4-9 behind the arc to earn over half of his points.

Imariagbe and junior DJ Worrell combined for 23 points in the paint, with Worrell completing a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double.

HSU was led by Chase Cobb with 24 points.

Both teams hovered around 40 percent shooting (McM 39.1, HSU 43.3). The difference came at the line, with HSU sinking 22-28 and McMurry going 12-21.

The War Hawks hold a slight edge over Concordia Texas (3-6, 2-6 ASC) for fourth place in the ASC West standings and will look to remain in the tournament picture next week with games against UT Dallas and Ozarks. McMurry will tip against UT Dallas on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.