HOUSTON, Texas --Armonie Ramey scored 21 points, but the Howard Payne men's basketball team fell to the University of St. Thomas Celts 98-71 on the road Saturday.

The Yellow Jackets (3-4) had three players score in double figures, led by Ramey, who had 21 points, four assists and two steals. Hudson Johnson tacked on 13 points and Riley Fornerette helped out with 10 points.

Fornerette pulled down five offensive rebounds to pace the Howard Payne offense which grabbed 13 boards and turned them into 11 second chance points.

Howard Payne forced 17 St. Thomas turnovers. The Yellow Jackets turned those takeaways into 16 points on the offensive end of the floor. Ramey's two steals led the way for Howard Payne.

How It Happened

Howard Payne struggled out of the gate, falling behind 53-29 heading into halftime.

St. Thomas kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing an 81-52 advantage before Howard Payne went on a 5-0 run to shrink the deficit to 81-57 with 9:48 to go in the contest. St. Thomas responded and outscored the Yellow Jackets the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 98-71. Howard Payne shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting six shots from deep to score 18 of its 42 points.

Game Notes

» Howard Payne lit it up from three point land, knocking down 11 treys in the game.
» The Howard Payne defense forced 17 turnovers.
» Howard Payne cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 13 offensive boards in the game.
» Armonie Ramey led the Yellow Jackets with 21 points.
» Howard Payne got five rebounds from both Riley Fornerette and Armonie Ramey.