Kendrick Ellis led three McMurry players in double digits with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting as the Indians improve to 9-6 overall and 2-2 in league play.
The key play in the game occurred with 5 minutes and 23 seconds left when Michael Qualls scored on a lay-in to break a 52-52 tie. Then 40 seconds later, Qualls missed a free throw on the front end of a 1-and-1 but tipped-in the offensive rebound as he was fouled and converted the 3-point play. McMurry led 57-52 at this point, finishing the game on a 15-3 run.
Qualls, who scored a career-high 28 points in his last outing, wound up with 14 tonight and added six rebounds. Travis Tennison also scored in double figures with 10 points for the Indians.
McMurry registered a season-high 57 rebounds, dominating Howard Payne's 42. Juan Muniz led the Indians with 12 boards, followed by Tennison (11, double-double), Ellis (9), Qualls (6), Heath Hardin (5) and Kelon Lewis (5).
Benny West led the Yellow Jackets (10-5, 2-2) with 12 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and six steals.
The contest was a matchup of two of the top 10 highest-scoring offenses in NCAA Division III as Howard Payne was fifth averaging 88.8 points and McMurry in 10th at 85.6 ppg. But the Indians' defense set a season scoring low by an opponent, holding the Yellow Jackets 33 points below their average. The Indians' 67 points were the lowest they scored against a D-III opponent this season; McMurry tallied 58 versus D-I Texas-Pan American on New Year's Eve.
--30--