ABILENE, Texas – The last few men's basketball meetings between rivals McMurry University and Howard Payne have come down to the wire. Tonight was no different.
With a guaranteed spot in the American Southwest Conference tournament on the line, the War Hawks came through with an electrifying 103-101 victory over the Yellow Jackets inside Kimbrell Arena on Thursday.
With the win, McMurry (9-13, 7-10 ASC) locked up the sixth seed in the ASC Championship Tournament and will play the 12 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 24 against the No. 3 seed. McMurry joins UMHB, LeTourneau, Hardin-Simmons, East Texas Baptist and UT Dallas, respectively, as the current qualifiers.
With under two minutes to go, McMurry led by double digits. That didn't stop the Yellow Jackets (7-17, 6-13 ASC) from making it a game, as they went on an unthinkable 11-0 run to make it 100-99 with 20 seconds left. Senior Remy Minor stopped the bleeding with two free throws at the other end. Another one by CJ LeBlanc made it 103-99 with 12 seconds to go.
With five seconds showing, Howard Payne's Tyrell Thompson made a quick put-back layup to make it a two-point game again. After a quick timeout and two missed free throws at the other end, the Yellow Jackets had one last heave at the buzzer, hitting the glass, but missing the net to end it.
Six War Hawks posted double figures in the dramatic win, led by sophomores LeBlanc and Matt Pena with 20 points each. LeBlanc went 7-18 from the field, while Pena went 6-10 overall and 5-9 behind the arc. He also made all three free throws on a foul behind the arc – essentially making him 6-10.
Three players – Minor, Rob Charles and Elias Garcia – finished with 14 points. Garcia also led the team in rebounding with 11 boards, earning his third double-double this season. Two of his three double-doubles have come against Howard Payne.
Sophomore TJ Hilliard contributed 12 points, including the go-ahead basket in the second half.
Tonight's game included eight lead changes and 10 situations where the score was tied, as both teams entered the locker room tied at 52-52.
HPU had the upper hand midway through the second half, going up 74-69 with 10:16 remaining, but McMurry flipped the lead back with an 8-0 run over the next two minutes. Back-to-back layups by Hilliard and three free throws by Pena sparked the run. That would serve as the final lead change.
McMurry finished 32-64 shooting for an even 50.0 percent, while going 9-24 behind the arc for 37.5 percent. The War Hawks also cashed in at the free throw line, hitting 30-39 for 76.9 percent. Meanwhile, HPU went 19-31 on freebies (61.3 percent).
The War Hawks will close the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 19 with Senior Day, hosting Sul Ross State at 3 p.m. Prior to the game, McMurry will honor senior Devon Webb with a special ceremony.
