SHERMAN, Texas – The Howard Payne men's basketball got 23 points from Khyce Randall and 12 rebounds from J Bailey but fell 68-62 to Austin College in non-conference action Thursday night.

It was a sluggish start for both teams, as the game stayed scoreless for more than three minutes until Howard Payne's Khyce Randall knocked down two free throws with 16:40 left in the opening half. A jumper with 10:05 on the clock put Austin College up 8-6, but the Jackets pushed back into the lead with a three from Volney Willis to make it 14-12 with 7:12 before the break.

The teams traded baskets and exchanged the lead three more times before Howard Payne took the momentum heading into halftime with a three pointer from Evan Vaden just before the buzzer to give the Jackets a 25-20 lead.

Minutes into the second half, a 6-0 run put Austin College ahead 35-34 with 13:52 left to play. Howard Payne would regain the led 52-51 with 7:21 to play, but a 14-4 run by Austin College over the next six minutes made it a 65-56 AC with 1:05 left to play.

Khyce Randall buried a three pointer with 17 seconds left to cut it to a 66-62 game, but Austin College would knock down a pair of free throws to seal the win.

Randall led Howard Payne with 23 points (8-for-9 from the free-throw line), adding five rebounds and three assists. J Bailey grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for Howard Payne and Volney Willis finished with eight points.

Howard Payne is now 0-3 to start the season. Austin College stands at 2-0 overall. The Jackets will play next on November 27-28 at the Colorado College Tournament in Colorado Spring, CO. HPU will take on host Colorado College on Friday and Hamline University on Saturday.