HSU trailed 51-37 with 17:11 remaining in the game, but the Cowboys went on an 11-1 run to make it 52-48 at the 14:02 mark. Zach Pickelman and Garrett Pool eah had a pair of buckets in the run and Robert Yeatts hit one of his four 3-pointers in the game.
The Cowboys took the lead for the first time in the second half at the 5:41 mark on a Tanner Kudrna 3-pointer. It was his fourth of the game. HSU moved it out to an 82-75 lead before a pair of missed front ends of one and one’s led to HPU having a chance to tie the game at the end. Cliff McGuire’s turnaround jumper was off the mark as the buzzer expired.
Pickelman led the Cowboys with 21 points and Nite chipped in 16. Kudrna and Yeatts each had 12 points on four 3-pointers as HSU hit 11 shoots from 3-point range in the game. Bryan Temple led four HPU players in double figures with 13 points.
The Cowboys moved to 16-6 on the season and are now 14-5 in league play. Howard Payne fell to 8-14 overall and 8-11 in league play. With Texas Lutheran to Mary Hardin-Baylor on Thursday, the Cowboys clinched a spot in the ASC Tournament for the first time.