Zane Johnston had 15 points, Ryan Burgart and Connor Kuykendall had 13 points apiece and Neiman Ford added 12. McMurry trailed 47-33 at halftime and ended up outscoring its opponent in the second half 47-44. However, it wasn’t enough as the Crusaders coasted through the game shooting 52.7 percent from the field.
McMurry’s 30.8 percent shooting performance was the worst against any NCAA Division III opponent the team has faced this season. The team shot 28.6 percent against NCAA Division I Sam Houston State on Dec. 30.
Alvin Stevens scored 19 points in the losing effort for McMurry while Casey Jones added a career-high 16 points. Bud Willis and Terrance Booker each scored 10 points from the point guard position.
McMurry was just 8 of 31 in the first half from the floor with four of those shots being 3-point field goals. Stevens had 11 and the team was 13 of 18 from the free-throw line. The Crusaders, on the other hand, were hot from the floor shooting 58.1 percent and also had four 3-point field goals.
McMurry fell to 7-6 overall and 5-4 in the ASC while Mary Hardin-Baylor improved to 9-3 overall and 5-3 in the ASC. The Crusaders are now atop the ASC West Division after Hardin-Simmons fell to Concordia-Austin Thursday night.
McMurry heads to Austin to face Concordia Saturday at 3 p.m.