The first time these two teams met Jan. 12 in Brownwood, McMurry jumped out to an early 19-6 lead but ended up losing 107-85. This time, however, it was the Yellow Jackets who jumped out early leading 18-8 with 15:32 remaining in the first period. The Indians closed out the first half with a 17-4 run after trailing 48-37 and led at intermission 54-52.
McMurry never trailed again, but Howard Payne’s 14-7 run put the Yellow Jackets within two points, 82-80 with 6:49 remaining before the Indians final spurt held off their opponents for good.
Seven players scored in double figure for McMurry. Fred Baker came off the bench and had the only double-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Elijah Bryant and Alvin Stevens led the Indians with 20 points apiece, Terence Mirabal had 19 off the bench, Rommel Colina had 17, Finlay Brashears added 16 and Dustin Faught had 10 points including four in the final minute.
McMurry hit 12 3-pointers on the night; Bryant led the long-range charge hitting 5 of 8 attempts, Mirabal had four and Brashears had three.
Kendrick Johnson scored 35 points to lead Howard Payne; he had 28 in Jan. 12’s win over McMurry. Sean Wheeler, who was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week last week had 23 points while Cliff McGuire pitched in 15 and Matt Zinser had 14.
McMurry’s depth continues to be a plus for head coach Ron Holmes; they outscored the Yellow Jacket bench 51-10. The Indians dominated the boards as well, out rebounding their opponents 47-34 and made the most of their 16 offensive boards with 27 second-chance points.
Howard Payne still has a comfortable lead in the ASC West Division as they fell to 16-4 overall and 15-3 in ASC play. They would have to lose two of their final three contests and McMurry would have to win out to keep HPU from hosting the ASC Tournament Feb. 24-26.
McMurry moved to 15-7 overall and 14-5 in the ASC. The team will host its final home game Saturday against Sul Ross State before hitting the road for its final two games in the regular season. Sul Ross State’s Richard Hooper hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to sink McMurry 107-106 in Alpine Jan. 14