Mary Hardin-Baylor once again struggled from the free-throw line and from long range, and the fourth-ranked Crusaders were upset by McMurry 79-76 Saturday afternoon at Kimbrell Arena.
UMHB (11-3, 8-2 American Southwest Conference), which entered the week perfect against fellow NCAA Division III opponents this season and as a winner of 29 of its last 33 games, has now dropped two straight to teams with losing records.
McMurry (6-8, 3-7) won for just the third time in its last 11 games, two days after Hardin-Simmons pushed its record to 6-7 with a 76-66 victory over the Crusaders on Thursday.
UMHB missed 17 free throws (26-of-43) and went 4-of-17 from 3-point range. Combined with Thursday’s misfires, the Crusaders have missed 32 times from the stripe and are a dismal 7-for-30 from beyond the arc in their last two games.
“Between the free throws, the 3s and the turnovers, you don’t have much else you can do to make up for that,” said UMHB coach Ken DeWeese, whose squad turned it over 37 times in two games - 18 on Saturday.
Ryan Burgart, the Crusaders’ 6-10 senior post who came in averaging 11 points per game, did not have a field-goal attempt and went scoreless in only eight minutes of action due to foul trouble.
“That was a big factor. He was totally ineffective because of the fouls,” DeWeese said. “We had a hard time adjusting to the officiating.
“After these two games, honestly, we don’t know what is a foul and what isn’t. The officials’ inconsistency makes it very difficult for both teams. The McMurry coach was complaining about it as much as I was.”
A pair of free throws each by Neiman Ford and Tim Lytle gave UMHB its final lead at 69-66 with 2:40 remaining before Robert Moreno’s 3 tied it 15 seconds later.
McMurry built a five-point cushion before Ford’s 3 with 22 seconds left. But Moreno went 1-for-2 at the line with three seconds to go, and the Crusaders were unable to get a shot off before the buzzer.
UMHB junior wing Tilmon Gaddy led all scorers for the second straight game by following Thursday’s 20-point outing and 19 on Saturday. David Ray had 12 points and 13 rebounds, Jason Wagner added 15 points and Ford 10.
Casey Jones scored 17 points, and Moreno and Dewayne Hall added 14 apiece as the trio combined for seven of McMurry’s nine 3s.
The Crusaders will try to bounce back in a pair of home games this week at Mayborn Campus Center. UMHB will host Howard Payne at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Sul Ross State at 3 p.m. Saturday.
WOMEN
McMurry 66, UMHB 44
Mary Hardin-Baylor suffered through a seven-minute scoreless drought in the second half and fell to No. 8 McMurry, the Lady Crusaders’ second consecutive loss after a six-game winning streak.
UMHB (8-6, 6-4 ASC) rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to trail 43-39 with 11:09 remaining. McMurry (13-1, 10-0) answered with a 19-0 run to go up by 23 points with 4:15 to go.
Sasha Monreal had 11 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Lady Crusaders, who shot 17 percent from 3-point range and 43 percent from the free-throw line. Landie Thompson added 10 points and nine boards.
Tarra Richardson’s 27 points paced McMurry, which shot 38 percent from long range and 85 percent from the stripe.
UMHB will host No. 2 Howard Payne on Thursday and Sul Ross State on Saturday.
