ABILENE – McMurry Men's Basketball finishes out the 2024 portion of its season on Tuesday, hosting Howard Payne in a 3 p.m. contest in Kimbrell Arena.
 
McMurry is 1-6 on the season after an 85-83 overtime loss to Mary Hardin-Baylor.
 
McMurry Storylines
 
Return Engagement: Tuesday's game will be the second this season between the War Hawks and Howard Payne. Howard Payne won the previous meeting in Brownwood, 115-103. Matt Pena had 27 points to lead McMurry, followed by Kino Thompson with 20, TJ Hilliard with 18 and Jalen Cherry with 17. Trey Jackson had 26 points for the Yellow Jackets and Armanie Ramey added 24 points and 10 rebounds.
 
On Board: The War Hawks are first in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and 32^nd in NCAA Division III with 29.86 defensive rebounds per game. Cherry leads McMurry with 9.1 rebounds per game.
 
High Octane Offense: The War Hawks are seconds in the league and 20^th in D3 in scoring average at 88.6 points per game. Thompson leads McMurry with 17 points per game, followed by Pena at 16.1, TJ Hilliard at 11.4 and Cherry at 10.9. Hilliard leads the team with 3.1 assists per game.
 
Scouting HPU: Howard Payne is 6-5 on the season after a 124-120 win over Arlington Baptist. The Yellow Jackets are fourth nationally with 97.4 points per game. Hudson Johnson leads HPU with 22.5 points per game.