BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Howard Payne University men's basketball team received a game-winning shot from Rickey Guillory in the final seconds to pull away with an 87-85 win over the University of Texas at Dallas on Saturday night.
Rickey Guillory led all players and matched a career-high with 27 points, including the game winner, and Khyce Randall's aggressive play and hot shooting helped lead the Jackets to their fourth ASC victory on the year. Randall finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Guillory ended the game with three assists, two blocks and a steal on 11-18 shooting.
J Bailey scored a career high 14 points on 6-7 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds while also recording two assists and two blocks. Shadd Cole had nine points and the Jackets received 20 points from their bench to help them overcome a 10 point deficit and collect their fourth straight home victory.
UT-Dallas led the entire first half and never let Howard Payne come within two points of the lead as they made nearly 60% of their shots and scored nine three-pointers to go ahead by as much as 10 points. De'Marcus Hurd scored a layup and picked up a foul on the bucket and Rickey Guillory drained a three to help the Jackets pull within two points before the Comets went on a run to end the half up 49-40.
Howard Payne held UT-Dallas to 13-31 shooting and outrebounded them 27-10 in the second half to help re-take control. Khyce Randall sunk two free throws and followed up with a three-pointer on the next possession to help the Jackets recapture a three point lead.
Another three-pointer from Rickey Guillory and several layups from an array of HPU players helped push that lead to 11, 73-62 with eight minutes left to go. The Comets fought back though and eventually tied the game up at 82-82 after a three pointer from Caleb Banks.
Howard Payne settled down and forced UT-Dallas into committing some fouls in order to keep the clock from ticking down. Rickey Guillory and J Bailey each sunk some free throws to give the Jackets a three point lead in the final seconds.
UT Dallas took the next possession and sunk a three to tie it up with seven seconds remaining. Instead of calling a timeout, Khyce Randall took the ball, raced back down the court and heaved a shot from near the half court line that bounced off the standard and into Rickey Guillory's hands as time wound down.
Guillory took the ball and heaved a shot from just ahead of the three-point line that fell in and gave the Yellow Jackets the thrilling 87-85 victory as time expired. After official review, the shot was confirmed to have come before the buzzer, giving the Jackets their second straight win.
Howard Payne is now 4-1 in ASC play and 5-4 overall. They will now face Texas State University on December 20th at 7:00 PM. Live links and stats can be found at HPUSports.com and follow along on Twitter @HPUmbsk and Instagram @HPUSports for in game updates and more.
