LONGVIEW, Texas- The Howard Payne University men's basketball team lost a close conference matchup to LeTourneau University 81-80.
Fredrick Watts led the Yellow Jackets with a double-double that included 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Howard Payne struggled to find their footing, trailing by as much as 19 in the first half, and trailed 43-29 at halftime.
The Yellow Jackets used a 16 to 5 run that started with just over six minutes left in the game to take a one-point 80-79 lead with 11 seconds remaining.
Letourneau had the ball with under 10 seconds left and made a jump shot in the paint to win the game 81-80.
The Jackets improved from shooting 22% from the field in the first half (9-41) to shooting 46% in the second (18-39).
HPU was led by
Fredrick Watts with 20 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Micahel House with 20 points and three steals.
Myles Brown had 18 points and eight rebounds.
Jaylan Ballou led in assists with six.Â
Howard Payne falls to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in American Southwest Conference action. LeTourneau remains undefeated with a record of 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.
Howard Payne will play Sul Ross on Thursday, Dec. 3rd at 7:30 PM in the Brownwood, Coliseum.
