Howard Payne survived a late deficit in the second overtime and the Yellow Jackets went on to defeat the University of the Ozarks 118-115 in a triple-overtime thriller Thursday evening.
Jarod Johnson hit a floater in the lane with 3.0 seconds left to give the home-standing Yellow Jackets (3-15, 1-9 American Southwest Conference) an 85-83 lead. But the game was hardly done. University of the Ozarks threw it in to halfcourt and Josh Upke drove in for the uncontested left-handed layup to tie the game at 85 and send it into overtime.
In the first overtime, Tylan Jackson put back a miss with 12 seconds left to tie the game and HPU missed two threes in the closing seconds that would have won the game. Ozarks (7-10, 2-8) had a shot to win it in the second overtime, as the Eagles led 104-102 and were at the foul line with 18.3 seconds left, but Luke Proctor missed both foul shots and Armonie Ramey hit a layup with three seconds left to tie the game at 104.
In the third overtime, Howard Payne held a 114-110 lead with 1:29 remaining, but the Eagles would cut it to 117-115 on Ukpe's three-pointer. Myles Brown missed one of two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to keep the Eagles mathematically alive, but a 75-foot heave hit the backboard and did not fall for Ozarks.
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| Jarod Johnson scored 29 points and added eight rebounds and seven assists as Howard Payne outlasted University of the Ozarks. Howard Payne athletics photo |
Jackson and Ukpe recorded double-doubles for the Eagles. Jackson had 29 points and 12 rebounds while Ukpe had 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Johnson had a stellar game finishing with a career-high 29 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists, including going 8-of-9 from the free-throw line. Ramey added 21 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Miles Koehler finished with 19 points, Harold Myart had 18 points and six rebounds, Myles Brown had 13 points, and Deshon Shorter added 11 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Howard Payne turned the ball over just 14 times in 55 minutes.
It was only the eighth triple-overtime game in American Southwest Conference history.