JACKSON, Mississippi – The Howard Payne University men's basketball team defeated Belhaven University, 72-71 in a close fought and highly contested game on Thursday night.
De'Marcus Hurd subbed into the game with 12 seconds left to go and proceeded to draw a foul and bury two free throws to help Howard Payne (8-5) clinch their third consecutive victory. Belhaven (2-9) was forced into committing 21 turnovers, of which the Yellow Jackets scored 26 points to help lead them to their second straight road win.
Khyce Randall continued to his hot play of late, leading the way with 17 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and two steals and Howard Payne saw three other players finish with 10 points each. The Yellow Jackets held the Blazers to just eight points off of turnovers and four fast break points in route to the victory.
Howard Payne seemed to be in control of the game from the start despite never leading by more than eight points. Belhaven hung tough behind the play of Brent Webber, who made several big shots to keep his squad in the game and kept the game close until the final second when De'Marcus Hood sunk the game winning free throws with five seconds left.
Howard Payne was on the second of back-to-back road contests and still managed to come out and build a six point lead towards the end of the first half. After the Blazers hit a three and converted on a couple of free throw attempts, The Jackets lead had been cut to two points, 40-38 to end the first half.
After halftime, Howard Payne came out and stretched their lead to eight after Talen Davis-Rentfro connected on a three pointer with just over 15 minutes left to play. But the Blazers were able to draw contact and get to the line, connecting on 10 of their 17 free throw attempts to keep the game close.
When De'Marcus Hurd checked in to the game in the final seconds, he picked up a foul and connected on both free throws to put the game out of range for Belhaven and help deliver Howard Payne it's eighth victory on the season.
Next up for the Yellow Jackets is another road contest, this time against Hardin-Simmons University on January 9th in Sherman. Tip off is slated for 7:30 PM and live stats and video can be found at HPUSports.com Also, be sure to follow along on Twitter @HPUmbsk for in-game updates and more.
