The Westerners began the scoring with a floater in the lane by Calven Charles less than a minute into the contest and built a 3-point lead at 8-5 with 16 minutes to go in the half. A pair of Amare Banks free throws followed by a jumper by Joseph Mayberry III gave the Highlanders their first lead of the game at 9-8. The Highlanders continued to push, extending the lead to 16 at 31-15 with 7:15 to go. Western Texas rallied late in the half, cutting the lead to nine at 38-29 before Timi Ibikunle's 3-pointer just before the buzzer made it a 41-29 McLennan lead at the break.
The Highlanders held the cushion until the midway through of the second half. McLennan led 54-40 when Western Texas began to rally. A 7-0 run by the Westerners cut the lead in half, 54-47 with just over nine minutes remaining in the game. The lead was trimmed to six at 58-52 with when the Highlanders responded. A 5-0 run by Mayberry put McLennan back up by 11, 63-52 with 6:53 to go.
Joseph Mayberry III led the Highlanders with 22 points. Timi Ibikunle and Kenneth Morrast scored 15 and 14, respectively.
Western Texas: Calven Charles 3 1-1 7; Justin McCall 5 1-2 15; Anesu Dehwe 0 2-2 2; Zayier Dean 6 7-9 22; Jalen Brown 1 0-0 2; Isak Homelius 2 4-5 9; Viktor Bystrom 2 0-0 4; Rayan Fadika 1 0-0 2; Totals: 20 17-21 65.
McLennan: Julian Cuillier 1 0-0 3; Kenneth Morrast 5 2-2 14; Aiden Law 2 0-0 4; Joseph Mayberry III 8 5-6 22; Kardae Turner 2 1-2 5; Amare Banks 0 2-2 2; Katayvon Jefferies 1 0-0 3; Timi Ibikunle 5 3-3 15; Howard Gaskins Jr. 0 2-2 2; Joe Burgess 1 1-2 3; Maximilian Blank 1 2-2 4; Totals: 26 18-21 77.
Halftime score: McLennan 41, Western Texas 29; 3-pointers: Western Texas 8 (McCall 4, Dean 3, Hornelius 1), McLennan 7 (Morrast 2, Ibikunle 2, Cuillier 1, Mayberry III 1, Jefferies 1)); Total fouls: Western Texas 17, McLennan 19; Fouled out: Banks (McLennan); Record: McLennan 6-0.
