Howard Payne University hit its first five three-point attempts and made 11 threes total on the night during an 85-62 conference win Thursday over Texas Lutheran University.
Howard Payne maintained a share of the American Southwest Conference West Division lead with Concordia Texas. The Lady Jackets and Tornados each have 15-3 records in the division.
Howard Payne improves to 19-3 overall and 15-3 in conference. TLU drops to 5-17 overall and to 4-13 in the ASC West.
Brittany Roberson led HPU with 16 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds. She also had two steals. Roberson made 4-of-5 from the three-point line.
HPU’s Dana Marrs and Roshonda Gayden scored
15 and 12, respectively. Marrs made four of her eight three-point attempts. Gayden added seven rebounds.
TLU did not have a player in double figures in scoring. Rebecca Valdez contributed nine points and five rebounds. Kimberly Hagan and Katy Scott each scored eight.
Howard Payne led by 12, 38-26, at halftime. The Lady Jackets pushed their lead to 25 midway through the second half but TLU would rally to cut the HPU lead to 14 with four minutes remaining.
TLU shot 43.1 percent (25-for-58) from the field and 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from the three-point line. The Bulldogs committed 22 turnovers, and HPU registered 14 steals.
Howard Payne will play their last regular season home game on Saturday afternoon versus Schreiner University at 1:00 pm. The four HPU seniors will be recognized after the game.
Howard Payne University Men were unable to convert in the closing seconds and fell 62-60 Thursday to Texas Lutheran University in American Southwest Conference West Division play.
At the Brownwood Coliseum, Howard Payne turned the ball over with five seconds to play as TLU drew an offensive foul. TLU made a free throw with less than a second to seal the game.
The Yellow Jackets fell to 8-14 overall and to 6-12 in the ASC West. TLU improved to 10-12 overall and to 9-9 in the ASC West.
TLU trailed 38-25 at the half but out-scored Howard Payne 34-25 in the second half.
Brandon Irwin led HPU with 17 points. He collected six rebounds. Joshua Dada scored 10 and had seven rebounds.
Michael Flores scored 16 to lead TLU. Flores hit 4-of-8 shots and 7-of-9 free throws. Justin Lindsey and George Davis contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.
HPU out-rebounded TLU 40-25. TLU shot 53.6% from the field in the second half and finished the game at 43.4%.
Howard Payne will play their last home game of the season on Saturday versus Schreiner University at 3:00 pm.