The Indians, who are now 6-3 in ASC openers and 7-2 in conference home openers, improve to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the West Division. The Patriots, meanwhile, drop to 0-3 and 0-1 in the East Division.
Terence Mirabal led five McMurry scorers in double figures with a game and season-high 26 points on 6-of-9 field goals, including 4-of-5 treys, and he was perfect on all 10 free throw attempts. Last season, Mirabal ranked second in the nation in NCAA Division II free throw percentage at .903 (56-62) while playing at New Mexico Highlands.
Travis Tennison chipped in with 17 points and nine rebounds, Kelon Lewis came off the bench to score 16 on 6-of-7 shooting, J.R. Williams tallied 13 and Michael Qualls, 11.
Brandon Weasby led the Patriots with 18 points, followed by Michael Galloway and Patrick Branche with 16 apiece and Joe Henderson had 13.
The Indians raced to a 50-33 halftime lead thanks to making 15 of 24 field goals for a 62.5 clip while the Patriots struggled in the first half at 27.3 percent (9-33). But UTT got hot in the second by making 21 of 36 for 58.3 percent and 7 of its 9 3-pointers to outscore McM 57-49 over the final 20 minutes.
But UTT's defense was too aggressive and McMurry capitalized at the free throw line by converting 36 of 51 attempts for 70.6 percent. McM led by as many as 22 points.