GEORGETOWN, Texas -- For the second time in three conference games, Kyle Howard delivered the game-winning dagger, hitting a layup with one second remaining to give the Southwestern University Pirates a 68-66 victory over the Schreiner University Mountaineers.
After trailing the entirety of the game, the Pirates made a number of big plays down the stretch to overtake the Mountaineers in the final minute.
Trailing 64-62, the Pirates had several open looks from the 3-point line on one possession with 1:30 remaining, coming up empty. Undeterred, the Pirates generated a stop on the other end. Bringing the ball up, Luke Hicks settled into the moment before both offense and defense could set, draining a walk-up 3-pointer to give Southwestern its first lead at 65-64 with 53 seconds left.
On the other end, Joel Martinez blocked a Chase Pinter 3-pointer, securing the rebound. Hicks earned a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession, hitting one of two to give the Pirates a 66-64 lead.
Schreiner's Paul Wells made a driving layup to tie the game with nine seconds. After a timeout, the Pirates spaced the floor and put Howard on an island with Schreiner point guard Alex Dehoyos. Howard didn't waste any time, giving a slight hesitation and turning the corner, getting all the way to the rim for the one-handed layup.
Kyle Howard picks up where he left off before winter break, nailing another game-winner in @SCAC_Sports play. pic.twitter.com/5NhcKjpKSt
— Southwestern Pirates (@SUPirates) December 30, 2019
Howard finished with 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting, recording three rebounds and three steals. Brandon Alexander led all scorers with 17 points, hitting 5-for-10 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line while pulling down eight rebounds. Hicks ahd 13 points and six rebounds, scoring nine in the second half.
Wells had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Mountaineers. Teammate Matthew Rindahl had 16 points and 10 rebounds, working pick-and-pop for open 3-pointers (3-for-6) and inside for quick duck-ins. Dehoyos had 11 points and eight assists, Pinter had 10 points and five rebounds.
The Pirates shot just 3-for-19 from deep and 34.5 percent overall but made up for it with a high volume of trips to the free-throw line, hitting 25-for-38.
With the win, the Pirates improve to 7-3 on the season and 3-0 in conference play. Southwestern will host Trinity University tomorrow at 5:30 p.m.