ASC hoops roundup: McMurry men beat Howard Payne in triple-OT, HSU women down Sul Ross

BROWNWOOD - It took three overtimes, including 3-point buzzer beaters to end regulation and the first overtime, but the McMurry men's basketball team outlasted Howard Payne 125-112 here Saturday.

The War Hawks led 46-37 at halftime, but there was plenty of basketball left.

Howard Payne clawed its way back, tying the game at 74 and taking a 77-74 lead on back-to-back 3-pointers from Jerren Godfrey and Myles Brown.

McMurry's C.J. LeBlanc answered with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game and begin a back-and-forth that would take the game all the way to three overtimes.

The game almost was over in regulation as HPU's Tyrell Thompson delivered a three-point play in the final seconds. But McMurry's Elias Garcia delivered from halfcourt to tie the game at 83 and send the game into overtime.

The War Hawks scored the first nine points of overtime, but HPU wouldn't go away. Trailing by three, Myles Brown hit a last-second 3-pointer of his own to send the game into a second overtime.

McMurry led by four late in the second overtime, but a 3-pointer from Godfrey pulled the Jackets to within one. With a second left, HPU'S Thompson went 1 of 2 from the free throw line to send the game to its third extra period.

The third overtime belonged to the War Hawks. McMurry opened on a 15-2 run and never looked back.

Howard Payne previously had pounded Hardin-Simmons at home.

McMurry's LeBlanc scored a career and game-high 42 points as he made five 3-pointers and was 5 of 6 from the free throw line and pulled down 11 rebounds for the double-double. Garcia finished with 27 points and Remy Minor had 22.

It was the second-straight win for the War Hawks and the first time this season they have won back-to-back games.

They will try to make it three in a row back in Abilene as East Texas Baptist and Belhaven come to Kimbrell Arena.

First quarter leads No. 19 Cowgirls past Sul Ross

At Alpine, the final three quarters of the game were played within three points, but a dominant first quarter helped carry the Hardin-Simmons women's team to an 85-67 win against Sul Ross State.

Hallie Edmondson scored 10 points in the first quarter and Parris Parmer added seven as the Cowgirls (12-2, 7-2) jumped to a 25-10 lead. Sul Ross (8-8, 4-7) matched HSU with 17 points in the second and 21 in the third to keep it a 15-point game going into the fourth.

In the final 10 minutes, Hardin-Simmons kept the Lobos at a distance to hold onto the double-digit victory.

All five Cowgirl starters reached double figures offensively, led by Edmondson with 20 points while Brittany Schnabel scored 15, Parmer and Samantha Tatum had 13 points and Natasha Blizzard finished with 12. Kiki Gonzales had a team-high eight rebounds to go with seven points off the bench.

Alexis Carmosino led Sul Ross with a game-high 25 points.

HSU comes home to play Belhaven on Saturday after a top 25 showdown with No . 14 East Texas Baptist on Thursday night.

McMurry women drop OT heartbreaker

At Brownwood, the McMurry women's basketball team seemed poised to win its first game of the season, or at least take it to a second overtime.

But it wasn't to be as Howard Payne scored in the final 3 seconds of overtime to win 85-83 and keep the War Hawks out of the win column.

McMurry (0-14, 0-9) led 20-19 at the end of the first quarter and took a 38-34 lead into halftime. But the Lady Jackets (4-14, 2-9) flipped things around in the third quarter to go up 54-49 going into the fourth.

In the fourth, McMurry took a four-point lead on two occasions. The first when D'Asia White knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:13 to play, putting the War Hawks up 60-56. With 5:18 left, Destiny Mathews went 2 for 2 from the free throw line to put McMurry up 62-58.

Both times, the lead did not last long as Howard Payne kept fighting back. Late in regulation, it was the Lady Jackets leading by four points until Valery Alvarado scored six-straight for the War Hawks.

Alvarado hit a 3-point shot, then got a layup to put McMurry up by one and later went 1 of 2 from the free throw line to make it a two-point game.

HPU went 1 of 2 from the free throw line twice and kept McMurry off the board to go into overtime tied at 74.

In the extra period, Alvarado continued her run, scoring McMurry's first four points to make it a 10-point run of her own to finish with 13 points. White gave the War Hawks their first, and only, lead of the extra period, 80-79. An Emily Holland free throw would tie the game at 81 will 11 seconds left and a Mathews layup tied it at 83 with five seconds to play.

It was too much time as Trynadee Greenwell layed the ball in with under three seconds left to give Howard Payne the victory.

Along with Alvarado's strong finish, Mathews had a 21-point, 14-rebound double-double for the War Hawks while Holland finished with 19 and White chipped in 11.

All 85 points came from five Lady Jackets, led by a 20-point effort from Bria Neal while Salina Ali scored 18, Lily Janek and Greenwell had 16 points each and Elaina Buchanan added 15.

McMurry returns to Abilene, hosting Belhaven on Thursday and No. 14 ETBU on Saturday.

Cowboys fall in final seconds

At Alpine, a shot with 2.2 seconds to play handed the HSU men their third-straight loss, 81-79 against Sul Ross.

Chase Cobb hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 79 with 29 seconds to play. But that gave Sul Ross time to set up a play, run down the clock and Caelyb Curley delivered the game-winner.

The Cowboys (10-4, 6-3) led 43-32 at halftime and led by as many as 19 points in the second half. But over the final 13-plus minutes of the game, Sul Ross (6-10, 3-8) outscored HSU 43-22.

The Lobos used a 17-0 run to turn a 61-48 deficit into a 65-61 lead. Aidan Walsh's 3-pointer gave HSU the lead back, 76-75 with 1:28 to play and Cobb's 3-pointer tied the game, but it wasn't enough.

Trey Wooldridge led HSU with a game-high 23 points with Walsh and Favors adding 14 points each while Cobb finished with 11.

Hardin-Simmons will try to win its first game since Dec. 16 when at plays East Texas Baptist and Belhaven this week.

Jordan Hofeditz covers Abilene high schools and colleges, Big Country schools and other local sports. Follow him on Twitter at @jhofeditz. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: ASC Hoops Roundup: McMurry men outlast HPU, HSU women beat Sul Ross