SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Howard Payne University men's basketball team tips off the 2026-27 campaign with an early-season exhibition with the Texas State University Bobcats on Thursday, November 5 in Strahan Arena.

WHAT TO KNOW
WHO: Howard Payne University Yellow Jackets (0-0) @ Texas State University Bobcats (1-0)
WHEN: Thursday, November 5 | 6:00 P.M.
WHERE: Strahan Arena | San Marcos, Texas

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ABOUT THE JACKETS

• Howard Payne is coming off of a 13-13 campaign during the 2025-26 season. The Yellow Jackets were bested by Hardin-Simmons University in the American Southwest Conference semifinals.
• This year, the Jackets are projected to finish third in the ASC, behind HSU and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
• The Yellow Jackets were the top scoring offense in the ASC last year, averaging 93.9 points per contest. Defensively, Howard Payne led the conference in steals, averaging nearly 11 takeaways per game.
• Jordan McClendon is the returner to watch for HPU. The senior from Fort Worth, Texas was the team's third leading scorer at 11.8 points per game.
• Carter May was a late bloomer for the Yellow Jackets, starting the final seven games of the season. The senior stacked up four double-doubles in that span.
• Keegan Rowell joins the Jackets from Louisiana Tech after playing nearly half of the Bulldogs' 2025-2026 schedule, shooting 62% from the field and 56% from deep.

ABOUT THE BOBCATS

• Texas State enters Thursday night's match up after defeating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 67-55 on Monday.
• D.J. Hall led the scoring against the Islanders, stacking up 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting. The 6'7, 220-pound forward will bring a tough challenge with his size paired with the ability to stretch the floor after going 2-of-4 from three-point range.
• Sticking with size, the Bobcats doubled down in the paint on Monday thanks to Robert Shields and his 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting. The 6'9 sophomore big man pulled down three rebounds and grabbed three steals.
• The Bobcats went an impressive 16-1 in Strahan Arena in 2025-26. However, road woes ended their season at 19-13 and an early exit in the Sun Belt Conference tournament to Southern Miss.
• For their inaugural season in the revived PAC-12 conference, the Bobcats are projected to finish in seventh place, and rank 106^th in Division I, according to CBKalert.com.