Austin College Falls at Howard Payne

BROWNWOOD, Texas - The Austin College men's basketball team led Howard Payne by four points at halftime, but the Yellow Jackets used a big second half to top the 'Roos 86-78 on Saturday evening in a road non-conference matchup. The 'Roos are now 0-2 on the year.

Kidus Getenet scored 23 points to lead Austin College and Jamien June chipped in 20, while Ethan Pearce had a 14 point, six steal, five rebound effort and Jordan Hudgins pulled down 16 rebounds while dishing out five assists in the loss. The 'Roos shot 40.6% as a team, knocking down 6-of-18 from beyond the arc, while HPU shot 47.3% collectively and made 8-of-19 threes. The Jackets also outscored the 'Roos 26-20 from the free throw line.

The 'Roos took a 48-44 lead into halftime, leading by as many as eight points in the closing minutes of the opening frame. Howard Payne closed the gap quickly in the second half, however, taking a 53-52 lead on a Trey Jackson three pointer with 16:36 left to play, and after a basket by Pearce to square things up at 56 apiece with 12:32 left, HPU got a three-point play 25 seconds later to go on top 59-56 and they'd hang onto the lead the rest of the way.

Getenet made 8-of-17 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep, adding five rebounds, while June made 7-of-16 shots in the game. Five different players notched double figures for Howard Payne, with Jackson, Jordan McClendon, and Ben Phillip each scoring 13 to pace the HPU offense. The 'Roos are off until November 24, when they head to Jackson, Miss., to take on Millsaps College. They'll also play the next day in Jackson against Belhaven.