BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Howard Payne men's basketball team used 54% shooting in the second half to defeat the University of Texas at Tyler 90-85 Saturday afternoon in the Brownwood Coliseum.

UT-Tyler shot 51% from the field to gain a 46-42 halftime advantage. The Yellow Jackets would connect on 43% of their shots in the first half.

Both teams battled back and forth in the second till the Jackets took the lead with 7:17 remaining in the game. A Brandon Gould three-point play would give HPU a 76-73 lead.

The Patriots did not go away staying within striking distance the rest of the way out. With the Jackets leading 87-85 with :48 seconds left, Rickey Guillory and Khyce Randall hit free-throws in the closing seconds to secure the 90-85 victory.

The Jackets shot 54% from the field in the second while holding UT-Tyler to 36% shooting.

Ty Davis led HPU with 20 points along with five rebounds. Brandon Gould had 15 points with five rebounds, he was 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. Khyce Randall scored 14 off the bench. Sterling Smoak finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Rickey Guillory had nine points and nine rebounds off the bench.

Chris Rios led UT-Tyler with a game high 36 points along with nine rebounds and five assists. Anthony Gonzales had 16 points and Tyler Jacobs added 15 point and eight rebounds.

Howard Payne is now 11-10 overall and 11-5 in American Southwest Conference play. UT-Tyler stands at 3-19 overall and 2-19 in league action. The Jackets will play next on the road at Louisiana College on Feb 12th.
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