ABILENE, Texas – The Southwestern University Pirates men's basketball team suffered its worst offensive outing of the season so far, losing 80-59 to the McMurry War Hawks.
Southwestern shot just 9-for-31 from 3-point range (29.0 percent) and only slightly better overall from the field, hitting 20-for-66 (30.3 percent).
Brandon Alexander and Kyle Howard led the Pirates with seven points each in a low-scoring first half in which Southwestern shot just 21.9 percent from the field, including 2-for-14 from deep. The Southwestern bench was held scoreless at the break, shooting a combined 0-for-6 as the Pirates trailed 30-22 at the break.
The Pirates found their range in the second half, shooting 7-for-17 from behind the 3-point line, led by Preston Hannah's 3-for-3 shooting from long range. But McMurry shot 48.5 percent in the half, scoring 50 points after the break, led by Mike Williams Jr., who scored a game-high 14 points with seven rebounds, scoring 12 in the second half.
Luke Hicks led the Pirates with 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting with four rebounds and two assists. Alexander and Zac Black each scored 11 points while Hannah finished with nine off the bench.
McMurry finished with a 29-14 advantage in free throw attempts, converting 21 and outscoring Southwestern 38-15 in bench points.
With the loss, the Pirates drop to 3-3 on the season. Southwestern will host Howard Payne on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 3:00 p.m.