Bailey finishes with career highs in points (17) & assists (5) while shooting 7-7 from the floor
Box Score
ABILENE, Texas - The Howard Payne University men's basketball team completed their seventh win in nine games with a 74-68 victory over McMurry University on Saturday evening at Kimbrell Arena.
J Bailey scored 17 points on 7-7 shooting while also finishing with 14 rebounds to complete the double-double. He also had a career high five assists in what turned out to be one of Bailey's best performances in a Howard Payne uniform.
Khyce Randall finished with 16 points while going a perfect 2-2 from range and De'Marcus Hurd added 11 points in the victory. The Yellow Jackets (10-6, 6-2 ASC) held the War Hawks (8-8, 4-4 ASC) to just 30% shooting from the floor and 4-21 from range to collect their seventh conference victory on the season.
Howard Payne opened the game with two quick jumpers, a three-pointer from Khyce Randall and a mid-range shot from Talen Davis-Rentfro to go up 10-0 in the games first three minutes. David Dingle added another shot from distance shortly after and the Yellow Jackets were cruising early.
The War Hawks settled down, made some outside shots and got to the free throw line to pull within 5, 18-13 with 9:56 left in the half. But Khyce Randall scored 14 of his 17 points in the half to help pace the Howard Payne offense to a 37-25 half-time lead.
The Yellow Jackets used their depth in the second half to maintain their lead, sometimes going up by as much as 14 points before McMurry made a come-back. Larandall Scroggins and Zacc Carter each provided a nice spark late for the War-Hawks, scoring 12 and nine points respectively in the second half to cut the War Hawk's deficit to four with 2:01 remaining.
Some solid post play from J Bailey and clutch free-throws from Shadd Cole and Khyce Randall helped Howard Payne maintain the lead and hold on for the 74-68 win. The Yellow Jackets scored 38 points in the paints, thanks in large part to Bailey's presence, while holding McMurry to just 18 points in the paint.
The Yellow Jackets will finally return home after seven consecutive road games to host the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at the Brownwood Coliseum. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 PM and Dallas Huston will have the call on 99.3 FM. Live video and stats will be made available at HPUsports.com and follow along on Twitter @HPUmbsk for in-game updates and more. Also, follow us on Instagram @HPUSports for interactive content of all HPU sports programs.
