ALPINE, Tx.- The Hardin-Simmons Cowboys broke the second place, West Division tie with the Sul Ross Lobos as HSU claimed a 75-61 conference victory over Sully Thursday at the Gallego Center. (BOX)
Three Lobos posted double figure outings in the effort with Sid Hooper leading scorers with 17 points. C.J. Acosta was a board shy of a double-double with 16 points and 9 rebounds while Matt Santa Cruz contributed 11 points.
Sul Ross had a slow start as HSU put up 6 unanswered points in the first 3 minutes of play. Tury Escobar nailed a 3-point shot to cut the spread in half 6-3 at the 17:10 mark. HSU led by as much as 23 points as Cowboy Tom Horn hit a jump shot within the closing seconds of the first period. Both teams went to intermission with the Cowboys sporting a comfortable 47-24 advantage.
HSU led by 28 in the opening seconds of the second half with a field goal and a three-pointer by HSU’s Tanner Kudrna and Zack Pickelman. The Cowboys kept the margin above 20 points in the first 13 minutes of the second period. Sul Ross pulled within 11 points twice but could not recover from a 67% shooting performance by HSU in the second half.
As a team, the Lobos shot 32% from the field against the Cowboys. Sul Ross improved their shooting from 23% in opening period to 40% in the second half. Sully connected on 23 of 38 foul shots, good for 61% for the evening.
Pickelman led HSU scorers with 24 points followed by two double-double showings by Mardochee Jean (16 points, 11 boards) and Ryan Ochesky (17 points, 10 rebounds).
The Lobos drop to 5-8 for the year and 5-5 in ASC competition while HSU improves to 7-6 and 6-4 in ASC play.
Sul Ross will square off with McMurry, currently in second place in the ASC West. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Saturday at the Gallego Center.
Newspaper Box Score Hardin-Simmons vs Sul Ross State 01/12/06 7:30 p.m. at Alpine, Texas (Pete P. Gallego Center) At Alpine, Texas (Pete P. Gallego Center) HARDIN-SIMMONS 84, SUL ROSS STATE 72 HARDIN-SIMMONS (7-6, 6-4 (ASC)) Zach Pickelman 8-14 6-8 24; Ryan Ocheskey 6-7 5-12 17; Mardochee Jean 7-9 2-2 16; Tanner Kudrna 5-7 1-3 12; James Peters 3-6 0-0 6; Colby Hale 1-3 1-5 3; Ricky Ovaitt 1-2 0-0 2; Tom Horn 1-3 0-0 2; Matt Brackett 1-3 0-0 2; Rob Yeatts 0-2 0-2 0; Charlie Pannell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-56 15-32 84. SUL ROSS STATE (5-8, 5-5 (ASC)) Sidney Hooper 5-15 4-4 17; C.J. Acosta 5-14 6-7 16; Matt Santa Cruz 3-9 5-9 11; Arturo Escobar 2-7 3-4 9; Aaron Hardwick 3-4 0-0 7; Moises Morales 1-6 3-6 6; Jesus Banuelos 1-3 2-3 4; Abraham Ely 1-3 0-3 2; Richard Hooper 0-1 0-2 0; Travis Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Cornell Hunt 0-2 0-0 0; Art Gonzalez 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-65 23-38 72. Hardin-Simmons................ 47 37 - 84 Sul Ross State................ 24 48 - 72 3-point goals-Hardin-Simmons 3-11 (Zach Pickelman 2-4; Tanner Kudrna 1-3; James Peters 0-1; Colby Hale 0-1; Tom Horn 0-1; Matt Brackett 0-1), Sul Ross State 7-23 (Sidney Hooper 3-8; Arturo Escobar 2-5; Moises Morales 1-3; Aaron Hardwick 1-1; Abraham Ely 0-1; Cornell Hunt 0-1; Art Gonzalez 0-1; C.J. Acosta 0-3). Fouled out--Hardin-Simmons-Matt Brackett; Mardochee Jean, Sul Ross State-Jesus Banuelos. Rebounds-Hardin-Simmons 49 (Mardochee Jean 11), Sul Ross State 31 (C.J. Acosta 9). Assists-Hardin-Simmons 17 (Colby Hale 4), Sul Ross State 6 (Arturo Escobar 2; Matt Santa Cruz 2). Total fouls-Hardin-Simmons 26, Sul Ross State 21. A-314