The Kangaroos held the Indians at bay for the entire contest until Terence Mirabal hit a 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining to break a 94-all tie. The Indians tied the game at 50 before entering the half trailing 52-50, and knotted the score three times in the second half before Mirabal's shot off of a turnover by Kyle May.
McMurry's full-court pressure proved too much in the end for Austin College as the Kangaroos turned the ball over 26 times. The Tribe capitalized off Austin College's miscues, scoring 35 points off of turnovers.
McMurry dominated the paint, outscoring the Kangaroos 52-38 down low and the Indian bench provided a solid offensive spark. J.R. Williams was the only starter to score in double figures for McMurry, but Elijah Bryant, Brison Daily, Fred Baker and Curtis Jones all scored in double digits off the bench.
The Indians did have 16 turnovers, however, and shot just 25.8 percent from the 3-point line hitting just 8 of 31 attempts. Bryant filled in for Williams when he fouled out with 8:37 remaining and hit two free throws in the final 30 seconds to hold off Austin College.
The win moved McMurry to 7-4 on the season and 6-2 in American Southwest Conference play, and snapped a three-game losing skid after McMurry got off to a quick 6-1 start. The team will play host to the University of the Ozarks Saturday before finishing the season with 13-straight ASC West Division games.
After Saturday's match up, the Indians will join the women's team on a road trip to open up West division play. McMurry faces Howard Payne University in Brownwood Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and travels to Alpine for a contest with Sul Ross State at 3 p.m.
http://www.mcm.edu/athletics/010506a.htm " target="_blank">See the box score.