ALPINE – The Howard Payne University men’s basketball team defeated Sul Ross State University 84-83 on the road at Alpine, Texas on Saturday, January 13^th.

Sophomore guard Ben Phillip broke the HPU men’s basketball single game record for made three-pointers, sinking nine on the night. The previous record was held by Luke Cox who made eight back in 2019 versus Dallas Baptist.

Despite struggling to keep the Lobos out of the paint in the 1^st half, HPU would head into the break with a 46-44 lead. It was a back-and-forth 20 minutes as there were 11 lead changes.

The Lobos continued their success inside the paint in the 2nd half, totaling 14 second chance points and 26 total points in the paint throughout the final 20 minutes. Three-pointers were a key for the Jackets as they made a season-high 16 treys compared to Sul Ross’ six.

Ben Phillip had a terrific night, scoring a career-high 27 points and breaking the HPU single game record for made three-pointers with nine. Following behind was Jarod Johnson who posted a solid stat line of 23 points, six assists, and four steals. Hudson Johnson notched a career-high seven assists to go along with nine points while Armonie Ramey totaled nine points and seven rebounds.

The Lobos were led by a 24-points performance from Tyler Jackson. Cailean Ables followed behind with 12 points.

The Yellow Jackets will continue their five-game road trip on Thursday, January 18^th as they travel to Clarksville, Arkansas to take on University of the Ozarks with tip-off set for 7:30 PM. HPU lost a close one to the Ozarks earlier this season by a score of 91-83.