BROWNWOOD, Texas – The Howard Payne University men's basketball team overcame a 37-28 halftime deficit only to fall in the final minutes to Sul Ross State University, 77-73 Saturday evening at the Brownwood Coliseum.
De'Marcus Hurd led the Jackets with 19 points on 5-6 shooting from beyond the arc and Rickey Guillory added 17 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Khyce Randall had 13 points and seven rebounds and David Dingle finished with seven points on perfect shooting from the floor (2-2 FG, 4-4 FT's.)
Howard Payne (11-8, 7-4 ASC) received 30 points from their bench but had a difficult time keeping Sul Ross (10-10, 6-5 ASC) out of the paint. The Lobos finished the night with 36 points in the paint as opposed to the Jackets' 16 points in the paint while also holding Howard Payne to 35% shooting from the field to collect their sixth ASC victory.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 12-7 lead before the Lobo's were able to storm back and tie the game back up at 12-12. Sul Ross began to work the ball into the paint and saw some early success with Caleb Thomasson scoring 14 of his game-high 27 points in the first half to help give the Lobos a 37-28 lead at the half.
Sul Ross State jumped out to a 12 point lead to start the second half as they began to spread the ball around a bit more. Each of the Lobos seven active players scored at least three points apiece to give themselves the 45-33 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining in the contest.
Howard Payne fought tough and pushed the Lobos to the final minutes of the contest after Rickey Guillory scored 16 of his 17 points and De'Marcus Hurd scored 14 of his 19 points, in the second half. They helped bring the Jackets within six points of the lead, 54-48 with 10:27 remaining in the game.
But the Lobos answered back with consecutive three point buckets to pull back ahead by 12 points. Whenever the Yellow Jackets started to make a run, Sul Ross State seemed to have an answer for it. Despite being outscored 45-40 in the half, the Lobos still held on to capture the 77-73 road victory.
Next up for the Yellow Jackets is a home contest vs. McMurry University on February 2nd. Tip off is slated for 7:30 PM and Dallas Huston will have the call on KPSM 99.3. Attendance is $3 for adults, $2 for senior citizens, $1 for kids ages 12-18, and kids under 12 are free. Live video and stats will be made available on HPUSports.com and follow along on Twitter @HPUwbsk and on Instagram @HPUSports for in-game updates, interactive content and more.
