GEORGETOWN, Texas- The Howard Payne University men's basketball team defeated Southwestern University 79-70 in the first game of the season. This is their first season opening win since 2011.
 
Fredrick Watts had a double-double for Howard Payne with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The game was a close battle from the beginning. The Yellow Jackets trailed by eight points to start the game but fought their way back to lead 37-34 at halftime.
 
HPU fell behind 45-42 with just over 12 minutes left, but used a 7-0 run to regain their lead and never trail again. The Yellow Jackets ended the game on top 79-70 to give coach Nadir Dalleh his first win with HPU.
 
The Yellow Jacket defense forced the Pirates to turn the ball over 19 times, 12 of them coming in the second half.
 
With 5 of 11 three-point shooting, Myles Brown led the Jackets with 20 points. Fredrick Watts had the only double-double of the afternoon with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Jaylan Ballou had five assists and four steals.
 
Howard Payne is now 1-0 overall and will begin conference play on Thursday Nov. 11^th at the Brownwood Coliseum in Brownwood, Texas against University of the Ozarks. The game is set to start at 7:30 PM. We will be honoring current and former veterans with free admission to the game for Veterans Day. Fans are encouraged to wear camo.