East Texas Baptist used a 53% shooting and hit 5 of 10 three-pointers in the first half to build a double digit lead. The Yellow Jackets would outrebound ETBU on the offensive glass 12-4 to stay in the game. ETBU led 41-32 at the half.
Down 10 minutes into the second half, the Jackets put together a 12-2 run to tie the game 53-53 on a Jorden Young jumper with 12:17 to play.
With the Jackets leading by two with less than a minute to play, Sterling Smoak and Khyce Randall hit key free-throws to put the game away. Howard Payne claimed the win 81-77.
Howard Payne shot 53% from the field in the second half while also hitting 10 of 13 free-throws.
Brandon Gould led HPU with 22 points and four assists. Sterling Smoak and Khyce Randall had 12 and 11 points respectively off the bench. Rickey Guillory added 10 points and six rebounds.
ETBU was led by Jamil Samuel with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Chad Herring followed with 16 points.
Howard Payne is now 13-11 overall and 13-6 in American Southwest Conference action. ETBU falls to 19-5 overall and 14-5 in league play. The Jackets will finish out the regular season on Saturday at home versus LeTourneau University at 3:00 pm. Official ASC tournament bracket information will be released by Monday morning.
The Howard Payne women’s basketball team used a 16-0 run in the second half to take down East Texas Baptist University 68-65 Thursday evening at the Brownwood Coliseum.
East Texas Baptist shot 54% from the field in the opening half to gain a 35-32 advantage at the break. ETBU scored 10 of HPU turnovers compared to just four for HPU.
After ETBU pushed their lead to nine in the opening minutes of the second, the Lady Jackets rallied to gain the lead 48-46 on a three-pointer by Jada Evans with 13:58 to play in the game. Evans’ three-pointer was a part of a 15-0 run by the Lady Jackets.
In the final two minutes and the Lady Jackets with a two point lead, Kalin Hanna would take over with key rebounding and back to back block shots.
Two Sarah Van Remmen free-throws with 18 seconds left secured the game for the Lady Jackets 68-65.
The Howard Payne defense played stronger in the second holding ETBU to just 30% shooting in the second period. Despite being outrebounded 45-41, the Lady Jackets bench played a big factor outscoring ETBU’s 22-9.
HPU’s Danyel Bradley led all scorers with 21 points along with six rebounds, six assists and seven steals. Tessenia Cazares had 11 and Sarah Van Remmen added 10 points. Kalin Hanna had nine rebounds and three blocks.
Amanda Rucker had 17 points for ETBU. Taylee Alexander had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Amber Carver had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Howard Payne is now 14-10 overall and 11-8 in American Southwest Conference play. ETBU stands at 9-15 overall and 5-14 in league play. Howard Payne will finish out the regular season on Saturday at home versus LeTourneau University at 1:00 pm. Official ASC tournament bracket information will be released by Monday morning.
