BELTON, Texas— The Howard Payne University women’s basketball team used a 14-2 first-half run on the way to a 76-55 victory over the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Thursday night in Belton.
Howard Payne improves to 16-2 overall and 12-2 in the ASC with the victory. UMHB falls to 2-16 overall and 1-13 in American Southwest Conference play with the loss.
UMHB kept it close through the early going, trailing only 22-18 with 5:48 left in the first half. That’s when HPU erupted for a 14-2 run to take control of the game and the Lady Jackets led 41-22 at halftime. UMHB would never get closer than the final margin in the second half after the Lady Jackets led by as many as 32 points.
Roshonda Gayden led a balanced HPU scoring effort with 14 points and she pulled down eight rebounds. Dana Marrs added 13 points and 13 different players scored for the Yellow Jackets. HPU shot 52 percent from the field and drained 10-28 from beyond the arc.
Jovana Miles led UMHB with 12 points off the bench and she added a team-high seven rebounds. Miranda Shorter and Carmen Maciel chipped in 11 points apiece. UMHB shot just 32 percent from the field and went just 3-16 from three-point range in the loss.
Howard Payne will end their four game road trip this Saturday in Austin, Texas versus Concordia University at 1:00 pm before returning to Brownwood for a four game home stand.
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men’s basketball team dominated the second half and cruised to an 83-62 victory over Howard Payne University Thursday night in Belton.
The loss drops Howard Payne to 8-10 overall and 6-8 in the ASC on the season. 10th-ranked UMHB improves to 17-1 overall and 13-1 in American Southwest Conference play with the victory.
Howard Payne grabbed an early lead before back-to-back three pointers from Marlon Miller gave UMHB a 16-11 edge with 14:05 left in the first half. UMHB pushed the lead to as many as eight before the Yellow Jackets clawed back to take a 32-31 halftime lead. UMHB opened the second half with a 13-0 run to build an early double-digit lead, but Howard Payne once again answered.
The Yellow Jackets closed to within 50-48 with 11:57 to play in the game, but UMHB responded with a 12-4 run to take the lead back to double figures and stretched it out from there.
Brandon Irwin led all scorers with 23 points for Howard Payne and he had 13 of those in the first half. Joshua Dada added 13 points and Ja’Kalan Gayden pulled down 12 rebounds. HPU shot 38 percent from the field and went 4-9 from three-point range.
Marlon Miller led UMHB with 20 points. James Allen added 13 and Kitrick Bell scored 12 for UMHB. Greg Wiernas posted a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. The Cru shot 58 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 45 percent for the game. UMHB out rebounded the Yellow Jackets 52-37.
Howard Payne will end their four game road trip this Saturday in Austin, Texas versus Concordia University at 3:00 pm before returning to Brownwood for a four game home stand.
