ABILENE, Texas – The Howard Payne men's basketball defeated American Southwest Conference leader Hardin-Simmons 81-76 Saturday afternoon at the Mabee Athletic Center.

Howard Payne connected on eight three point shots (8 of 13) in the first half to lead 36-33 at the half. Brandon Gould scored 17 of his 31 points in the first half.

Hardin-Simmons hit 50% of their shots in the first half with Howard Payne hitting 47% of theirs.

The Jackets continued to play well and pushed their lead to seven, 51-44 with 13:42 remaining to play on a Jorden Young three-pointer. Young finished hitting 4 of 5 from behind the arc.

HSU would tie the game at 73-73 with 2:14 remaining to play on a jumper, but the Jackets held strong hitting free-throws down the stretch to claim the 81-76 victory.

Howard Payne shot a red hot 63.3% from the field in the second half and 54.1% for the game. The Jackets were 10 for 18 from point land as a team.

Brandon Gould led all scorers with 31 points, just one point shy of tying his career high of 32. Gould also dished out a game high seven assists with five rebounds and was 12 of 15 from the field. Jorden Young and Khyce Randall each had 12 points.

Derrick Jefferson led HSU with 29 points. Justin Jones had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Cameron Barnes added 14 points.

Howard Payne is now 9-9 overall and 9-4 in American Southwest Conference action. Hardin-Simmons stands at 16-3 overall and 12-2 in conference. Howard Payne will travel to Sul Ross State on Monday, February 2nd.
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