The Cowboys trailed 42-34 at halftime and were behind 44-34 at the 19:08 mark. HSU responded with a 26-7 run over the 10 minutes to take a 60-51 lead. In the run, Pickelman had 15 points in the run.
HSU led 66-59 at the 5:53 mark when Howard Payne went on a run of its own, scoring 12 in a row to take a 71-66 advantage with 2:12 to go in the game. But the Cowboys scored the last five points of regulation to send it to overtime.
Tanner Kudrna scored a leaning jumper at the :55 mark and then Calvin Nite hit a 3-pointer to tie it with :40 seconds left after a Howard Payne turnover. Both teams had a chance to win in regulation but both shots came off.
In the overtime, Kudrna scored a layup and Pickelman had a 3-pointer to make it 76-71 and the Yellowjackets never got closer than one point the rest of the game.
Kendrick Johnson led HPU with 33 points and Matt Zinser added 20. Calvin Nite scored 18 and James Peters added 10 for the Cowboys to lead a balanced attack.
The win was the Cowboys fourth straight and the first in seven tries against the Yellowjackets. HSU is now 9-4 on the year and 7-3 in ASC play. Howard Payne fell to 3-10 overall and 3-7 in league play. HSU plays Sul Ross State on Saturday.