In just the eighth triple overtime game in American Southwest Conference men’s basketball history, the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets notched their first league victory of the 2022-23 campaign and snapped a 12-game losing streak with an 118-115 triumph over the Ozarks Eagles Thursday night at the Brownwood Coliseum.
In a game that featured 11 ties and 13 lead changes, the Yellow Jackets (3-14, 1-9) trailed by as many as a dozen points in the first half but drew even at 44 at halftime. HPU then trailed by six points with 95 seconds left, but rallied to knot the score at 83 at the end of regulation. Through one overtime the score stood at 93-all, and both teams were tied at 104 after two extra sessions, thanks to a layup at the buzzer by Yellow Jacket Armonie Ramey.
Trailing 110-108 in the third overtime, the Yellow Jackets reeled off six straight points – a three-pointer by Myles Brown, another bucket from Brown, and a free throw by Ramey – to open a 114-110 edge with 1:29 to go. The lead peaked at 117-112 with 47 seconds left on a bucket by Jarod Johnson, and HPU held off Ozarks (7-10, 2-8) – which lost its ninth game in a row – down the stretch.
Howard Payne shot 43 percent (41 of 96) from the floor, 30 percent (11 of 37) from the three-point arc, and 68 percent (25 of 37) from the free throw line. Both teams finished with 54 rebounds, while the Yellow Jackets caused 24 turnovers – which led to 30 points – and committed just 14 that Ozarks turned into 18 points.
Johnson scored a team-high 29 points for the Yellow Jackets trailed by Ramey with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds; Miles Koehler with 19 points; Harold Myart with 18; Brown with 13; Deshon Shorter with 11; and Deven Bailey with seven points.
Ozarks sank 51 percent (40 of 79) of its shots, 32 percent (9 of 28) of its treys, and 65 percent (26 of 40) of its free throws.
Tylan Jackson scored 29 points for the Eagles followed by Josh Ukpe with 26, Grayson Nix with 18, Sephfan Tabe with 14, and Luke Proctor with 10.
Head coach Nadir Dalleh’s Yellow Jackets host UT-Dallas at 3 p.m. Saturday.
