It was the second-straight game in one week that came down to the wire for the two schools. McMurry beat Texas Lutheran on its home floor in Seguin last Thursday 68-66.
This time, the Indians outscored their opponents 24-15 in the first ten minutes of the final period after trailing 48-39 at halftime. After tying the score at 63 after the run, the Bulldogs led by as many as five points before Russel Raymond’s 3-pointer put the Indians up one, 78-77, with 3:31 remaining. Raymond then added another three on McMurry’s next possession to go up four..
Alvin Stevens hit a free throw with 2:13 remaining that gave the Indians their biggest lead of the night, 84-79, and they never scored again. Nelson, Jerrod Carpenter and Will Hudson combined for four free throws in the final 2:09 to bring the Bulldogs within one point, but Nelson’s turnover doomed any chances at a final shot for Texas Lutheran.
Rommel Colina led the Indians in scoring with 21 points and nine rebounds on 8 of 11 shooting. Stevens added 17 and Dustin Faught had 12. The Bulldogs had three players in double digits, all scoring at least 20 points. Hudson led the squad with 24, Nate Walton chipped in 21 and Carpenter had 20.
Texas Lutheran also received outstanding play from its point guard Jason Morales. Morales had only six points but had 10 assists and just three turnovers in the losing effort.
McMurry improved its record to 13-7 overall and 12-5 in the American Southwest Conference while the Bulldogs fell to 6-12 overall and 5-11 in the ASC.
Schreiner comes to town Saturday to play McMurry at Kimbrell; the tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.