The Cowboys controlled the game for most of the night and led by as many as 21 points with 12:40 to play, but a 20-for-35 effort at the free throw line in the second half gave McMurry a chance. The game featured 63 fouls and the teams combined to shoot 87 free throws.
McMurry came out with a physical mindset to try to shut down the nation's second-leading scorer Matt Addison. He went to the free throw line 20 times and hit 17 en route to a game-high 25 points.
HSU took an early lead at 6-4 and never trailed again the rest of the night. HSU, playing with mainly its second unit, scored the final seven points of the first half to take a 37-25 lead at halftime.
McMurry came out and went on an 8-0 run in the first 1:50 of the second half to make it 37-33 but HSU responded with a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to make it 49-33. Addison had seven points in the run. The Cowboys pushed the lead to 58-37 with 12:40 to play.
That is when the War Hawks started to chip away at the Cowboy lead. McMurry went on a 12-0 run to make it 60-51 with 9:58 to play. HSU made just one field goal in the final 6:20 of the game and went 10-for-17 at the free throw line as McMurry kept killing the clock with fouls.
McMurry had a late 3-pointer to tie the game circle the rim and pop out by Bryce Hill.
HSU held the War Hawks to 35.6 percent shooting in the game and forced 18 turnovers, scoring 21 points off those turnovers. McMurry beat the Cowboys on the boards 60-39 and had 19 second-chance points.
George Nelson had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Andy Spears added 12 points for the Cowboys. Jaden Isler led McMurry with 19 points and Steven Jones added 18 points and 16 rebounds. Dominick Walker had 19 rebounds for McMurry.
HSU tied the record for best start to a season by moving to 8-0. HSU is 6-0 in ASC action and will return to action in the D3hoops.com Classis on Dec. 28 against Gustavus Adolphus in Las Vegas. McMurry fell to 7-2 overall and to 4-2 in league play.
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