MARSHALL, Texas — The #4 seated Howard Payne emerged victorious behind a great second half in which they outscored Mary Hardin-Baylor 41-26 to win by a final score of 72-64.

It is the first win in the ASC Tournament for HPU since 2008 when they defeated Mississippi College 94-90 in OT.

HPU leading scorer Brandon Gould led them in scoring in this game with 22 points. He was joined in double figures by Khyce Randall and Rickey Guillory with 14 each and Ty Davis with 10. Guillory led the team in rebounds with nine. UMHB was led by Daniel Mills with 24 points and in rebounds by Jerard Graham with nine.

UMHB controlled the first half, never trailing in the first 20 minutes. The Cru shot over 50% at 14-27 while HPU struggled from the floor at 11-32 shooting. Despite their stellar shooting, the biggest lead UMHB had in the half was nine at 28-19. They took a seven point lead into halftime with the score 38-31.

UMHB started the second half strong, coming out on a 5-2 run to take a double digit lead at 43-33. Then, HPU turned the tables with an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 44-43. Gould scored nine of the 11 points during the run.

After UMHB took the lead back with a bucket, HPU went on a 10-2 run to take a seven point lead at 54-47. UMHB fought back to tie the game at 54.

The two teams went back and forth over the next few minutes, then finally, with UMHB up 63-62, HPU went on the decisive run to close the game. Randall scored with 3:57 to go to start a 6-0 run and HPU led the rest of the way.

HPU iced the game from the line, making five of six from the line to close the game and seal the eight point win.

HPU will play the winner of East Texas Baptist vs. Ozarks in the second semifinal game tomorrow, with the tip-off at 7:30 p.m.