Finlay Brashears led a balanced scoring attack for the Indians with 15 points. Four other players scored in double figures for McMurry; Fred Baker added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Brison Daily had 13, Terence Mirabal had 12 points and Rommel Colina pitched in 11 in just 13 minutes of playing time.
Brison Daily’s 13 points helped the Indians to a 47-36 halftime lead. McMurry came out hot shooting 16 of 32 from the floor and 9 of 19 from 3-point range. Mary Hardin Baylor’s Patrick Oliver led the team in the first half with 10 points while the Crusaders shot just under 46 percent in the first half.
Both teams had trouble taking care of the ball in the first half; McMurry had 15 turnovers while the Crusaders had 16. The Indians finished the game with 27 turnovers and Mary Hardin-Baylor had 34 miscues.
Rebounding was a key factor for the Indians in the win; they out-rebounded the Crusaders 47-37 and had 24 offensive boards complimented by 16 second-chance points. The Indians got the best of the turnover battle scoring 35 points off turnovers to the Crusaders’ 21.
McMurry opened up the second half with a 7-0 run and led by as many as 24 points. Oliver led Mary Hardin-Baylor with 14 points while Ryan Burgart added a double-double in the losing effort with 13 points and 10 boards.
Coming into the game Saturday, Mary Hardin-Baylor was tied with Howard Payne at 10 wins and two losses in the ASC. The win for McMurry puts the team at 9-4 and keeps them in sole possession of third place. Pending Saturday’s scores the Crusaders could drop to second or if Howard Payne loses, then a tie for first would still remain.
The Indians travel to Seguin Thursday to play Texas Lutheran and then to Kerrville Saturday to play Schreiner.