Abram Choate, SID

BROWNWOOD, Texas - In the championship game of the 2006 ASC Men's Basketball Tournament the Yellow Jackets of Howard Payne University fall to the Choctaws of Mississippi College 74-58 on Sunday afternoon in the Brownwood Coliseum.

The Choctaws jumped out to a 12-2 lead with 14:50 to play in the first half. The scoring margin remained about the same at the 10 minute mark in the first, 19-8 Choctaws. Mississippi College shot 50% from the field in the first 10 minutes and Howard Payne shot just 20%. The hot shooting continued for Mississippi as they extended their lead to 26-11 with 7:40 before half. The Yellow Jackets went into the locker room down 41-21.

In the first two minutes of the second, Howard Payne started on a 6-0 run, 41-25. Mississippi extended their back to 21, but the Jackets went on a run from there. A lay-up by Cliff McGuire with 8:55 to play made the score 54-44 Choctaws. The lead by Mississippi increased back to 15 with two minutes left to play. The Choctaws held on from there and won 74-58.

The Choctaws were led in scoring by Orlando Lewis with 13 points while Ryan Hudson added 11. The Choctaws improve to 27-1 on the season and receive the ASC's automatic bid to the NCAA III National Tournament.

Howard Payne was led in scoring by Matt Zinser and Cliff McGuire with 14 points each. Sean Wheeler had a game high 9 rebounds and Kendrick Johnson had 10 points. The Yellow Jackets record goes to 20-7 for the season. A strong performance by the Jackets gives them a chance at an at-large bid to the NCAA III National Tournament.