GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Southwestern University men's basketball team rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to upend Howard Payne 82-73 in the season opener Friday night at the Robertson Center.
The Pirates (1-0) trailed 57-43 with 10:53 remaining in the contest. Southwestern then reeled off a 17-3 run, capped by a pair of Chris Lee free throws, to pull even at 65-all with 5:05 to play.
The Yellow Jackets (0-1) received a free throw from Curtis Giles to take a 66-65 lead. However, the Pirates responded with two shots from the charity stripe by Karrey Sanders to reclaim the advantage.
Southwestern never looked back.
The Pirates pushed their lead to 76-69 on a Ryan Ogden layup with 1:39 remaining.
Howard Payne scored four straight points to pull within three, but Zach Whitlock was fouled on a layup and hit the free throw to put the Bucs up 79-73. Chris Molina added two free throws and Ogden added one more to cap the scoring.
Whitlock led all scorers with 23 points, while Ogden tallied a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Lee and Ben Stiver registered 13 points apiece.
The Yellow Jackets, who shot 60 percent (9 of 15) from behind the 3-point line, were led by Khyce Randall's 20 points and 11 boards. Howard Payne also committed 24 turnovers.
Southwestern connected on 41.3 percent (26 of 63) of its shots on the night, but only 20 percent (4 of 20) from beyond the arc. The Pirates also posted 40 points in the paint.
Southwestern will travel to Austin on Tuesday for an exhibition contest against St. Edward's. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
– SOUTHWESTERN –