Howard Payne University shot 58.1% from the field en route to a 67-63 win over the LeTourneau University men's basketball team on Saturday afternoon in Brownwood.
LeTourneau (3-11, 2-9 ASC) was led by senior Justin Jones, who had his eighth double double of the season, with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Aaron Frizelladded 10 in the defeat to join him in double figures.
Howard Payne (4-11, 4-8 ASC) had three in double figures with Brandon Gould, who had 21 points. He was joined by Quelan Lancaster and Nigele Robertson, who added 17 and 10 points, respectively.
The score was tied on 10 occasions in the first 20 minutes but LeTourneau went into the halftime break with a 30-29 advantage on the strength of a 3 pointer by juniorKurt Morris with 44 seconds to go. Neither team had a lead greater than three and both teams were shooting well from the field. LeTourneau shot 46.2% (12-for-26) and Howard Payne shot 52.4% (11-for-21) in the first 20 minutes. Jones for LeTourneau and Gould for Howard Payne each had 12 to lead their respective clubs.
Midway through the second half, LETU went up by as many as six, 47-41, when sophomore Chris Hynes made a layup with 12:42 to go. However, HPU rallied to tie the game at 53 when Robertson made a layup with 6:26 remaining.
The contest remained tight and would be tied on seven more occasions in the final 20 minutes. With the game tied at 63 and for the 17th time in the game, HPU scored the final six points of the game over the last 2:11 of the contest.
The big shot came when Jorden Young hit a 3 pointer with 37 seconds to go that put host HPU ahead 66-63. A game-tying 3 pointer attempt by LeTourneau's Ladaria Brown came up short and a LETU miscue after the offensive rebound forced them to foul. Gould made one of two free throws for HPU to seal the victory with 15 seconds to go and for the final margin.
LeTourneau will continue its four-game road trip when they travel to Pineville, Louisiana on Thursday, Jan. 23 to take on Louisiana College at 7:30 p.m.