ABILENE, Texas --Armonie Ramey totaled a career-high 40 points, but the Howard Payne University men's basketball team fell to the Hardin-Simmons University Cowboys 102-92 on the road Thursday.

The Yellow Jackets (11-12, 2-5) had four players score in double figures, led by Ramey, who had 40 points, six rebounds and seven steals. Trey Jackson tacked on 16 points and Riley Fornerette helped out with 15 points.

Jordan McClendon pulled down 11 offensive rebounds to pace the Howard Payne offense which grabbed 20 boards and turned them into 25 second chance points.

Howard Payne forced 16 Hardin-Simmons turnovers while committing 12 themselves in Thursday's game. The Yellow Jackets turned those takeaways into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Ramey's seven steals led the way for Howard Payne.

How It Happened

Howard Payne struggled out of the gate, falling behind 60-42 heading into halftime.

Hardin-Simmons kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 72-51 advantage before Howard Payne went on an 8-0 run to shrink the deficit to 72-59 with 14:55 to go in the contest. The Yellow Jackets kept their comeback going, but Hardin-Simmons managed to hold on for the 102-92 win. Howard Payne took care of business in the paint, recording 30 of its 50 points in the lane.

Game Notes

» Jordan McClendon notched a double-double for the Yellow Jackets with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
» Armonie Ramey, Trey Jackson, and Riley Fornerette combined to account for 77 percent of the Yellow Jackets points.
» Armonie Ramey swiped seven steals for the Yellow Jackets in the game.
» The Howard Payne defense forced 16 turnovers.
» Howard Payne cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 20 offensive boards in the game.
» Armonie Ramey led the Yellow Jackets with a game-high 40 points.
» Howard Payne got a game-high 14 rebounds from Jordan McClendon.

The Yellow Jackets will play next on the road at UT Dallas on Feb. 20th at 7:30 pm.